No September
by MissBMarie
Summary: KakuHida. Because I'm a sucker for AU KakuHida stories. Neither Hidan nor Kakuzu had planned for any of this, but once they were in this relationship, they were in it for good. CollegeStudent!Kakuzu / HighSchoolSenior!Hidan
1. Chapter 1

Hidan would most certainly argue that the well molded rituals that took place between the gong of one class ending and the ring of another beginning was nothing short of an artistically arranged experience. Deirdara believed otherwise.

It was in the methodology of it; the strategic placement of students and teachers that took the same designated paths day after day. The shuffling of shoes and the hum of chatter low and melodic in comparison to the sharp tinging of locker hinges. It was magnificent and fleeting, gone within moments of it beginning, but then replayed multiple times a day.

Oh yes, definitely art. Art of a societal structure, of a social norm, but still a well crafted thought out design.

Still, Deidara held no interest in Hidan's musings of it. And today was no exception. In fact, Hidan imagined that any mention of it would have been blown off briskly, as the young avant-garde artist was beaming with an upmost urgency.

"Please tell me you're not doing anything tonight, un." The blonde said, blue eyes wide and hopeful as he leaned into the locker beside Hidan's. Doing anything? It was a Friday night!...and no, he wasn't doing anything.

"Why?" Hidan replied, leaving himself ground room to lie to his friend if whatever Deidara was about to propose sounded otherwise un-enjoyable. Hidan plucked his books out of his locker, tucking them under his arm pit, then slammed the door shut in perfect unison with about 5 other lockers. A moment later 10 lockers slammed, and a moment after that, 20.

See, melodic. Crafted. Art.

Hidan turned away from his friend, preparing to make the truck down the hallway.

"Well," Deidara began, pushing through people to take a stride alongside Hidan, "You know that guy, Sasori, I was telling you about?" He asked. Hidan scoffed. How could he not? For months, it seemed like that was the only name on Deidara's tongue.

"Your tutor?" Hidan inquired in a rather mocking tone. Deidara paid no mind to it.

"He asked me to meet him at a club in town tonight, un." The boy said. Hidan stopped walking, staring down at Deidara with a bewildered expression on his face as people began to navigate around them. "I really don't want to go alone!" He said. Hidan let out a thoroughly annoyed sigh.

"Isn't he like, in college?" Hidan asked, once again resuming their walk to class. Deidara rolled his eyes,

"Yeah so?" He bit sharply, "We're seniors anyways. We'll be in college next year too, un!" He argued. Again, Hidan scoffed under his breath. "C'mon man," Deidara pleaded, "I'm just scared to go by myself ya know?"

The bell that signaled the beginning of the next class resonated through the hallways.

"What time?" Hidan asked, the defeat obvious in his voice. Deidara grinned happily,

"I'll meet you at your place around 8. We can go from there!" He chimed, then quickly made his exit to his next class. As Deidara left, Hidan stood in front of the door to his classroom, watching as the final students made their ways into their designated classes and the doors began to slam shut. Sun beamed radiantly through the windows, pouring its rays over the silent lockers and still tiles of the floor. In an instant, all was serene.

No doubt about it. Fucking Art.

* * *

It's no secret that Friday nights in a college town have a tendency to be a bit wilder than normal places. There are a few nights of the year though that are particularly worse than others. The first weekend students get back from summer vacation is a mighty crazy one, and of course, the final weekend before graduation is _always _epic. Halloween and St. Patrick's Day tend to be a bit out of control; and midterm breaks and spring vacations are categories of their own.

This Friday night was the beginning of the weekend before the fall semester midterm break. It was 7 p.m. and the campus security had already broken up 3 underclassmen parties, diffused 2 fights, and put out 1 fire.

"Kakuzu! Are you coming out or what?" called the deep, throaty voice of one of Kakuzu's roommates, Kisame.

"No." The 3rd year business major hollered.

"Oh...and by no you mean yes, right?" Kakuzu buried his face in his palm, rubbing his temples in an attempt to regain his focus. Despite over 2 years of the college lifestyle, Kakuzu still hadn't learned to tune out the constant noise that came with living on campus.

He'd hoped that moving into one of the university owned townhouses (which were mainly only occupied by upperclassmen) , rather than a dorm would lessen the racket. However, it seemed that was the contrary, as everyone was _suppose_ to be over 21, and therefore, campus security held little interest in busting their parties; even if it was no secret that underclassmen would often crash the townhouses.

"Dude, _what_ are doing?" Came the angered voice of Kisame, once again.

"Studying." Kakuzu replied shortly. He heard Kisame scoff from behind the door, then heard the soft thud of his friend leaning his weight on the flimsy wood. He must be drinking already.

"Kakuzu, that's what midterm break is for!" said the 3rd year Marine Biology major and ROTC cadet. "C'mon, don't you want to see Sasori go to jail?" he blurted, which was followed by a distant '_fuck you'_, from said roommate. Kakuzu lifted a brow, now slightly interested. Only slightly.

"Jail?" Kakuzu repeated, still refusing to get up and open the door for Kisame.

"Yeah," he replied, "He invited that student of his to Level tonight." He said. Like most of his friends, Sasori had picked up a part-time job while at school. The 3rd year Visual Arts major was doing private tutoring for a few promising students in the surrounding districts. Apparently he'd received the same type of tutoring early on as well, which is something he believed made him a cut above the rest.

Of course, the abundance of interaction with one student in particular had not only been a topic of interest lately, but also made him the butt of quite a few jokes.

"He's 17 damnit! It's perfectly legal!" It seemed Sasori had joined Kisame outside Kakuzu's door.

"Why _Level_?" Kakuzu interrupted, that name having a bit of distaste on his tongue.

"They allow 18 and up." Sasori said. Kakuzu sighed, lifting off his chair with a grunt and trudging his way over to his door, opening it ever so slowly. He first looked to Kisame at his right, who yes, was most certainly drinking by the looks of his glassy eyes and the way he was using the doorframe for support. Then he looked to Sasori.

"You just said he's 17..." Kakuzu said dryly. Sasori broke their eye contact, glancing briefly down at the floor. To Kakuzu's right, a small chuckle escaped Kisame's lips. Another moment of silence, and Sasori gave a heavy sigh,

"Nhe as is brthrs id..." He mumbled. Again, Kakuzu lifted an eyebrow,

"What?"

"He has his brother's ID!" Sasori said again, and Kisame irrupted into a whole-hearted fit of laughter. Sasori scoffed, shoving his way past Kisame and out into the shared living room.

"C'mon Kakuzu," Kisame said, placing a hand on his roommate's shoulder. "I'm going, Pein, Zetsu and Tobi are coming. If anything it'll be funny." Kakuzu sighed. It wasn't likely he would get much done with all this noise anyway.

"Alright, let me change," He said, giving the blue-tinted man a small shove out of his bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

"For Jashin's sake, stop fucking fidgeting!" Hidan snapped, glaring daggers at his friend as the blonde - once again - attempted to re-tie his hair up in the Metro's darkened windows. Ignoring Hidan, Deidara stared at his reflection, which disappeared every time they passed an overhead light in the dark tunnel. Each time, Deidara hoped that when his reflection reemerged, his hair would miraculously be just as he imagined it.

No such luck.

"You look _fine_," Hidan said harshly, shoving Deidara's shoulder in an attempt to force him away from his reflection. Deidara, who normally wore his hair half up and half down with a humongous clump of hair falling over his left eye, had for some reason attempted to pull it all back this evening. Unfortunately, his bangs weren't quite long enough to fit into the ponytail, and with his hair all up, he looked far too reminiscent of that freshmen girl Ino Yamanaka.

Not that Sasori would have known that, but it apparently bugged Deidara.

"Dude, the guy likes you enough to invite you to this place, then he likes how you look normally, right?" Hidan said, matter-of-factly. Deidara cast him a soft glance, the furrowed his brow and tried, yet again.

Hidan sighed. At least it was a short walk from the Metro to the club.

Evidently not short enough though, as Deidara fidgeted the entire way there. To be honest, when they arrived in front of the club _"Level",_ Hidan was a bit intimidated as well. Just like every other club on this strip, it was booming with music and people were flocking in and out in a melodic, orchestrated way.

The two high school seniors stared up at the neon lights, its bright pinks and blues shining loud and obnoxiously.

"Do I look okay? Like my clothes I mean, un." Deidara asked suddenly. Hidan looked down at his friend, who'd finally given up on his hair, allowing it to fall as it normally did. Deidara had dawned a really nice pair of jeans for this outing, along with red button-up shirt, pushed up to the elbows. Upon the breast of the shirt was some trendy-looking emblem sewn in a white thread. Deidara began to blush nervously under Hidan's examining eyes. He looked, to put it plainly, far too handsome to be about to oogle another man.

Strange as it may seem, despite Deidara's small stature, baby blue eyes and long blonde hair, he rarely came off as overly feminine. Even his art was pumped full of testosterone. He exhibited his exploding clay with the rowdiness and gusto you'd find on a playing field. He was often very loud and animated during both the creating process and the demonstration. He didn't ask you to sit back and ponder how his art made you feel and what it made you think. He demanded immediate feedback, and his interaction during his shows, at least Hidan felt, was ultimately part of the artistic experience in itself.

If asked, Hidan would say he liked Deidara's artistic style. Though Hidan would be the first to admit he didn't have an artistic bone in his body, he at least believed he understood Deidara's work. '_Art is a bang.'_ Fleeting, and momentary. An experience, there once second, and gone the next.

Like the 5 minutes between one class to the next.

Though, Hidan supposed, everyone saw art differently.

"Hidan?" Deidara's soft voice questioned. The blonde furrowed a brow, arching his neck to glare into Hidan's blank stare.

"You look good," Hidan blurted out, embarrassed for having dazed off in his thoughts. "And hey, if anything you'll look good by comparison," the platinum blonde joked, staring down at his boring jeans, and plain grey long-sleeve thermal, also pushed up to the elbows. The symbol of his god hung loosely around his neck, falling between the breast bones.

"Nah man, you look good," Deidara assured, heading up the steps to the narrow doors of the club.

At the door, Deidara nervously presented the bouncer with his brother's ID. Though his elder brother has significantly shorter hair than him, they are otherwise practically twins. The bouncer looked at the ID, then to Deidara, then back at the ID. He sighed, and stamped the blonde's hand. As Deidara passed him, he breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

Even though Hidan _was _old enough to get in, he admittedly was also nervous. He figured it was the guy's mustache.

* * *

"Stop staring at the door and deal the cards damnit," Sasori turned back to the table, giving Kakuzu that uninterested stare of his.

"Stop trying to rob me." Sasori snapped, slumping over a bit as he turned back to the table and took another swig of his beer. Kakuzu smirked slightly under his mask as Sasori dealt another round.

"Dude, _why_ are you so nervous? You see this guy like every day." Kisame said while signaling the waitress for another pitcher of beer.

"**Indeed, you're acting like a pansy.** You seem to really like him." Though a few people in the surrounding tables looked questioningly at the small twitch the man with slightly green-tinted hair made, those at the table paid no mind.

"I agree," Kisame said, the slur beginning to become a bit traceable in his voice, "Total pansy." Sasori ignored his peers as they began to laugh, looking back at the door over his shoulder. He'd asked Deidara to be at the club around 8:30. It was 8:35.

"I don't like waiting," Sasori said plainly.

"Sorry, Sasori no Danna," Sasori jumped a bit at the familiar voice, turning quickly in his chair to stare at the apologetic face of his student. "The metro was a few minutes behind today, un." said the blonde. Sasori inhaled sharply. This was the first time he'd seen Deidara out of his school uniform.

"No, it's fine!" Sasori said quickly, rising from his seat. Deidara offered up a smile, glad for the way his hair fell over his face, as he wouldn't have to see the entire table staring intently at him.

"Oh, and this is my friend Hidan, un." Deidara said, nudging his friend to step a bit closer. Hidan extended his hand out to shake, grinning broadly.

"Nice to meet you," Sasori said politely, taking the gesture, though was a bit surprised by Hidan's firm grip and hard, kinda childish shake.

"You too man," said the boy, "I hear about you _all the fuckin' time_." Deidara's face burned bright red and his head snapped quickly to his friend, mouth open in preparation to scold.

"Alright, great, now pull up a chair! Sasori, deal!" snapped Kakuzu, fingers drumming impatiently on the table.

"Nah man, I'm done with this shit," Kisame said, pushing away his cards, and all the way around the table those playing followed in suit.

"Tch," Kakuzu scoffed, "You're all a bunch of wussies." he scoffed, though it seemed it was in vain, as his friends were already dispersing. As Kakuzu collected his winnings, Kisame made his way over to the newcomers.

"So, you like blowing things up then?" Kisame asked, his towering form staring down at the small blonde and his drunken stupor blatantly obvious. Deidara nodded nervously,

"Well yeah kinda, I-"

"Awesome!" Kisame interrupted, patting the blonde's back roughly, "I like watching things blow up!" Sasori let out a small sigh, then geared Deidara toward the bar,

"Why don't we get a drink or something," he said, attempting to lead Deidara and Hidan away from his drunken friend. Alas, Kisame opted to follow them.

"A soda's fine," Deidara said as he, Sasori and Hidan seated themselves. He cast a glance toward Hidan, obviously embarrassed as he noted that everyone around them was old enough to be drinking.

"How about you Hidan?" Sasori asked as he leaned over to get the bartender's attention.

"Eh," Hidan mused, absently playing with this cell phone, trying he best not to look awkward and uncomfortable. "Yeah sure, a soda." He said.

"Nonsense!" came the unnecessarily loud voice of Kisame as he leaned his weight against the bar beside Hidan's stool. "Bartender!" he bellowed, and the man at the other end of the bar looked up, slightly annoyed. "2 Coors!" He called.

"Kisame!" Sasori hissed, glaring incredulously at the tall man. Kisame waved him off,

"Pfft, c'mon Sasori, you know they don't check stamps. As long as we buy it, he's fine." he said. Hidan peered down at his hand which was adorned with a bright red stamp reading 'Level'. On the contrary, Kisame's hand bore a darkened black stamp.

Sasori sighed, running a hand through his wavy red hair,

"Fine, 3 Coors," he said, "and a soda." Kisame grinned broadly.

"Hey, 3 Coors!" Kisame corrected, "And a soda!"

"4." came the gruff voice of Kakuzu, who was shoving his money into his wallet, not bothering to look up.

"Gaah, 4 Coors and a soda!" Kisame hollered again. Sighing, the bartender turned to his tap.

"What kinda soda?" He hollered. Kisame looked over his shoulder at the blonde.

"Um...Coke?" Deidara said, his blush now heating up even more.

"A Coke!" Kisame hollered. The bartender slid the beverages down the bar,

"Who's tab?" He asked as Kisame quickly grabbed the drinks to hand them out.

"Mine," Sasori said with a small wave of the hand.

"Here ya go man," Kisame handed Hidan his beer as the bartender walked off.

"Giving alcohol to minors Kisame?" the sultry voice made everyone's heads turn to the young, blue-haired woman, whom had been at the table when Deidara and Hidan had arrived.

"Hey, it's on Sasori's tab," Kisame said in a joking manor. Sasori only rolled his eyes, turning to engage in conversation with Deidara. Despite how loud Kisame was, Hidan was suddenly thankful for his presence, as it was obvious Deidara's attention was fully adverted to his '_Danna'_.

Hidan took that moment to get a good look at his company. Kisame was a sight on his own, with blue-tinted skin, dark cerulean hair and sharp yellow eyes. He was tall, bulky and often grinned broadly, bearing his sharp pointy teeth.

The woman who'd just joined them was about Hidan's height, with a sleek, slim figure and a distinct essence of maturity surrounding her, despite her numerous piercings. Besides her was a man with fiery red hair, also bearing a number of piercings, though far more extensive than the woman's.

The two others that had been at the table with them were now at the other end of the bar, seemingly bantering back and forth about something. Hidan couldn't quite see them at this point.

Oh, and then there was the guy with the mask. He approached Kisame, questioning him on his ability to drive, then stating he'd be driving despite his friend's protests. He was just as tall and bulky as Kisame, but with strikingly dark brown skin, and an unkept mess of dark brown hair than fell to graze his shoulders. He had a black, long-sleeve shirt on, which tightened around the neck to be able to pull that mask up.

_Weird_, Hidan thought.

The man's sleeves were also pushed up to his elbows though, revealing two blackened rings around both his wrists, like tattoos or something. Then up his forearm were a series of stitches that wrapped all the way around his arm. That was certainly no tattoo...

"So are you and Deidara from the same school then?" the man with fiery red hair asked as he came up beside the woman.

"Uh, yeah," Hidan blurted, taking the first sip of his beer. The taste sat in his mouth for a second, and he was thankful that it wasn't as bad as he has perceived it was going to be. "We're both seniors," he added.

"Konoha High School, right?" Kisame interjected. Hidan nodded, taking another sip. "My boyfriend's little brother goes there too," he added.

"Oh, what's his name?" Hidan inquired. Kisame licked his lips, savoring the beer he was already half way through, and leaning back against the bar as Kakuzu leaned over behind him, ordering himself another drink. Wow these guys really threw these things back. Hidan began to wonder if he should start pounding down his own drink.

"Uchiha. Sasuke Uchiha." Kisame said.

"Oh!" Hidan nodded, acknowledging that he knew the said brother. "Yeah he's a freshmen. He just started dating the blonde kid, ah...Naruto! Naruto Uzu...Uzu.."

"Uzumaki," Kakuzu supplied, reemerging from behind Kisame with a new beer and two for the pierced couple. "I used to live around the block from the kid," Kakuzu explained. Hidan _'oh'_ed in acknowledgment. That meant he lived in the projects then.

"Yeah, I've had detention with him a couple times," Hidan added, "The kid's a fuckin' riot." He said, taking a much larger sip of his beer now.

"Yeah," Kisame mused, "He's a good kid, but Sasuke's parents are none-too-happy about Sasuke dating him, with all the fights he gets himself into and whatnot."

"He never starts them though!" Hidan said a bit defensively. "When him and that Huuyga kid got into it, it was the Huuyga that started the whole thing." Kisame nodded admittedly,

"Oh yeah, I know," he said, "But their parents just don't see it that way."

About an hour later, Hidan knew far more about the Uchiha family than he ever needed, or wanted, to know. When that pierced couple, who'd Hidan had learned were called Pein and Konan, had moseyed on over to the dance floor, Hidan, Kisame and Kakuzu migrated back to the tables.

"I think," Hidan slurred, now nursing his 6th beer and rapidly feeling the effects, "That it shouldn't fucking matter if he's from the projects. I mean the kid isn't any different than any other kid that walks through that door just because he ah...just because ah .."

"No I hear ya," Kisame said, "But some people just can't see it that way man, some people are just...well they're just-"

"Fucking assholes." Hidan blurted, receiving an abrupt laugh from Kisame.

"Yeah, assholes." As Hidan and Kisame shared a hearty laugh, Kakuzu pushed himself up from his chair.

"You want another beer?" he asked. Kisame nodded, handing over his empty bottle, then looking back at Hidan as Kakuzu made his way back up to the bar.

"Stop me if I'm being rude, but mind if I ask your orientation?" Hidan stared blankly at him for moment,

"My what?" He blurted, eyes squinting and brows furrowed. Kisame chuckled a bit,

"I mean, your preference, guys or girls? Are you gay, straight? In between?" As if a light bulb had suddenly been turned on in his brain, Hidan threw his head back with an '_oooooh_', laughing and shaking his head at his own cluelessness. He leaned forward, clasping both palms around his beer.

"No, it's cool, it's cool. Yeah, I'm uh...I'm gay," he said, nodding his head softly.

"And your buddy?" Kisame asked, pointing over to where Deidara sat. Hidan took a sip of his beer, peering over at Deidara, only to near spit out his drink. He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, brows lifting high on his forehead. Deidara was so close to Sasori he may as well have been sitting on his lap, and their faces were mere inches apart as they spoke.

"Well," Hidan began, eyes still on his friend, "He dated a few girls when we were younger, but nothing too serious, and he's dated strictly guys since we got into high school." Kisame nodded in acknowledgment. "What about Sasori?" Hidan asked.

"He's dated a few guys at school, but he's really into his work, and can never seem to give them enough time." Kisame explained, "We always told him to date someone in his own field, that way he'd see them more and well...they'd have more to relate on, ya know?" Hidan nodded. "But Sasori prefers uh, _manly_ boyfriends." Kisame said with a slight raising of the brows, leaning back in his chair now and peering over at the couple again. "A lot the guys in the art department are very feminine,"

"Go figure,"

"Heh, yeah well, the ones that aren't girly are either taken or not what Sasori is looking for apparently." Hidan nodded again.

"Well Deidara doesn't act like a chick." Hidan assured. "He could look like a girl if he wanted too, but no, he's a man's man." Kisame laughed a little, looking back at Hidan. "What about you?" Hidan asked, "I mean I know you have a boyfriend but-"

"Actually Itachi's my first," Kisame confessed, grinning slightly when Hidan raised his brows. "I dated girls in high school, and I was dating a girl when we met. We got paired up for a class," he said with a laugh. "And it uh, just felt right ya know?" No, Hidan didn't know, but he nodded politely, none-the-less.

"How'd your girlfriend take it?" Hidan asked in a joking manor. Kisame laughed, shaking his head at the thought,

"Well she hasn't talked to me since." He said, "Though she did have a few choice words for Itachi. She sorta knew, I think. I mean it all happened pretty gradually and I think she saw it coming. Before I did even." Hidan nodded a bit.

"Okay so, Sasori's gay, you're freshmen gay,"

"Tch," Kisame scoffed with a laugh.

"I'm guessing those two are straight?" Hidan said, signaling to Pein and Konan out on the dance floor. Kisame looked over his shoulder at the dancing couple.

"Ah well, Pein yeah, straight as a board." He said, "But get a few drinks in Konan and that line gets pretty thin," he said with a laugh.

"And your buddy there with the mask?" Hidan asked. Whirling his head to the other side, Kisame peered over at Kakuzu, who was apparently arguing with the bar tender about the tab.

"Ah, Kakuzu?" Kisame said. "I can't say really. He never talked about ever dating anyone and he hasn't dated anyone since I met him." he said thoughtfully. "I mean he's had a couple girls ask him out, but he says he's too busy for a commitment." Kisame shrugged, "And he is, really. He's trying to finish up his bachelor's degree this year so he can start grad school earlier. And he works nearly 30 hours a week some weeks." Kisame looked up at Kakuzu as he began to walk back to the table, shaking his head at whatever dispute he'd just had with the bartender. "We're lucky we got him to come out tonight," Kisame added.

"Asshole put some other guy's shit on my tab," Kakuzu spat, practically dropping Kisame's beer on the table and sitting down with a thud, shaking his head angrily. "That's why I hate this bar. They never get anything right." He snapped. Kisame just laughed.

"Hey, you've got company," Kakuzu said, gesturing toward the door. Hidan and Kisame peered over the crowd of people at the entryway as a young man with long dark hair emerged. He had deep indent under his eyes, making him appear overly tired. Hidan could tell he was Sasuke's brother though, as the similarities were uncanny.

"Itachi!" Kisame called out, waving his large hand in the air. The young man was sporting quite the get-up, with a full button-up shirt and tie. He spotted Kisame and quickly made his way over. "How'd your interview go?" Kisame asked, standing as his boyfriend approached.

"Shitty," Itachi replied shortly. Kisame winced, placing a hand on Itachi's shoulder,

"Yikes, I'm sorry," he said. Itachi shook his head in a lackadaisical manor, then peered past his boyfriend at the table's occupants, and said in a monotone voice,

"I hope you guys don't mind if I steal him. I really want to get back to campus, and the metro's already closed-"

"What?" Hidan quickly pulled out his cell phone, sighing heavily as he stared at the large _'12:06'_ on the screen. "Fucking hell..." he cursed, then turned quickly to let Deidara know of their situation. However, Deidara and Sasori were no longer at the bar. Confused, Hidan began to scan the whole vicinity, neck darting side to side in an attempt to look through people.

"Try texting him," Kisame said, then proceeded to pull out his cell phone, "I'll text Sasori,"

"No, I'll text Sasori," Kakuzu said, "You go ahead and get going. And Do Not let him drive Itachi." The Uchiha nodded taking Kisame's keys, slowly leading his boyfriend out of the bar as Hidan frantically began messaging Deidara.

"It was nice hangin' with ya Hidan! See ya 'round sometime!" Kisame called as he made his leave. Hidan offered up a wave, then looked back down at his cell phone.

"What, you kids have a curfew or something?" Kakuzu said with a gruff laugh as he pulled out his phone, slowly pressing buttons. Hidan peered up at him, un-amused.

"Fuck no," he spat, "I don't have a curfew, but Deidara's parents with flip a shit if he misses his." Hidan explained.

"And when is his curfew?" Kakuzu inquired, snapping his phone shut. Hidan sighed, looking up at the now vacant seat where Deidara once sat.

"One." He said glumly. "But the last ride on the Metro runs at midnight. If we're going to make it home, we have to start running... _now_." Hidan's phone then sounded, flashing brightly with Deidara's picture producing on the screen.

_'Sasori said he'll drive us home. It's only like a 20 minute drive from here. We're in the parking lot. Can u hang out in there a little longer? :)plz? ' _

"Dah fuck," Hidan spat, cringing as he read. "They're in the parking lot," Hidan said with a bit of disgust on his tongue. Just then Kakuzu's phone sounded as well. Hidan watched as Kakuzu peered down at the screen, brow lifting, then he snapped it shut again. He sighed, then looked around the bar,

"Looks like everybody else left too," He said, seeing none of his friends. "You want to wait here for them, or you want a ride home, cuz I ain't stickin' around here." And with that, Kakuzu pulled his keys and wallet out of his pocket, thumbing through his money, ready to call it a night.

Hidan sighed, staring down at his cell phone.

"Yeah, alright." he said. Kakuzu nodded in acknowledgment.

"Okay, just let me pay the tab," He said, heading up to the bar. Hidan flipped his cell phone open, and began to type.

_'Getting a ride home from that guy with the mask. Don't worry about me. Have fun .. :)' _

"Asshole," Hidan said under his breath.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh c'mon are you serious?" Hidan's head quickly snapped up at the sound of Kakuzu's booming voice. The dark skinned fella was glaring daggers at the bartender, who was simply shaking his head with dismay. Angrily, Kakuzu put away his bills and laid down a credit card. When he returned to the table, he simply shoved his chair in, not bothering to look at Hidan before heading toward the door.

"The bastard Kisame never paid his tab." Kakuzu scoffed. Hidan quickly stood to follow, only now suddenly realizing just how much he drank as he fumbled over a few chairs. Kakuzu stopped mid-rant, peering over his shoulder. "You alright kid?" He asked, brow raised. Hidan shoved the chairs aside, cheeks flushing brightly,

"I'm fine," he snapped, "And don't call me kid." Kakuzu merely rolled his eyes in an uninterested fashion. Hidan huffed at that. This guy seriously lacked basic social skills.

Still, a ride was a ride, and it was better than impeding on Deidara's little love fest. As they made their way out the back door, and shrill breeze cut through the air, causing Hidan to shiver violently. He quickly pushed his sleeves down, following closely behind Kakuzu, as the large man seemed to block out some of the wind.

About half way through the parking lot, Hidan noticed a familiar blonde head of hair in the back seat of what looked like a Chevy Cobalt. Not a bad car for a college student. It seemed Sasori and Deidara were taking advantage of that spacious back seat, lips pressed together tightly, hands roaming in places Hidan's didn't want to know about.

Hidan grunted as he ran into the backside of Kakuzu, who apparently stopped walking. Hidan peered up at him with narrowed eyes, but said nothing upon seeing the annoyed look adorning the other man's brows as he also noticed the couple in the back seat. It was then Hidan really noticed Kakuzu's strange eye coloration of red and green, making it even harder to really define what sort of emotions he was conveying. Kakuzu's eyes didn't linger long though, and he quickly resumed walking. He stopped when they reached an old black Ford pick-up truck.

It was a little beat up, with some rust spots around the tailgate and tires, but otherwise it seemed like it was in relatively good condition. Hidan opened the old door, sliding into the passenger side, admiring the how old fashioned it all looked. The steering wheel was gargantuan, though it actually appeared normal under Kakuzu's massive hands. The dashboard was very antique looking, with a speedometer that only went up to 120. The radio even looked old, and the upholstery on the large cushy seat screamed the 50s.

Kakuzu revved the truck up, slowly pulling out of the parking space and quickly flipping on the heat.

"It'll take a minute or so to heat up," he informed. "So where are we going?" he asked as he slowly approached the parking lot exit.

"Down in the Juuban district in Konoha." Hidan said. Kakuzu mused, pulling out onto the main strip, then sat back in his seat.

An uncomfortable silence fell over them, and Hidan watched with dismay as a pattern of red lights began to form down the road. _'Oh that's just dandy'_, Hidan thought sarcastically. Kakuzu seemed to have thought the same thing, and he diverted onto a side road, attempting to get onto the interstate.

After a few moments, Hidan decided he'd break the silence. "So, what are ya studying?" He asked.

"Business with a focus in accounting." Kakuzu said pointedly. Hidan raised his eyebrows,

"Hn." he mused, "Sounds...kinda boring." Kakuzu turned his head slowly to look at him with a rather annoyed expression.

"Alright then," he replied, leaning back in his seat so his muscular arm was full extended with a hand draped over the steering wheel. "You're a senior right? What are you plans after high school then?" Hidan could hear the biting sarcasm in his voice, as if to say _'so what is it you do that's so special?_'. Hidan looked away and down at the glove box,

"I haven't done a lot of looking around yet," he said plainly.

"Hn." Kakuzu mused. "So what are you interested in then?" he inquired.

"Well," the young platinum-haired boy slid out his cell phone, beginning to open and snap it shut. "I'm not really sure yet. This area doesn't offer a whole lot of options for things to do-" He heard Kakuzu scoff, and Hidan unwillingly looked in his direction,

"I have one roommate that's an Army cadet and marine biologist and one that's a wood sculptor with a focus in marionettes. You want opposite ends of the spectrum, come to our place." he said.

"Kisame?" Hidan inquired, "He's doing marine biology?" Kakuzu nodded. "Does he have a focus too?" Kakuzu then shook his head,

"No, not really, but he's got a special interest in sharks." Hidan laughed at that, it somehow making sense in his brain. "But you're not answering my question." Kakuzu said sharply. Hidan sighed in a rather annoyed manor.

"I don't fucking know. I'm not like Deidara," he said dryly, "I don't have any crazy talent or anything I'm particularly interested in." Kakuzu didn't seem quite satisfied with Hidan's answer. "There's nothing at school that really motivates me," he continued. "I mean, the only thing I really care about is Jashin," he said.

Kakuzu peered at Hidan out of the corner of his eye as they approached a small cluster of traffic. "And before you ask," Hidan said, "Jashin is my God." Kakuzu silently noted the way Hidan looked down at his pendant that hung loosely on his breast bone, bearing an equilateral circumscribed triangle. "It's not a well known religion in this area, but back in Yugakure, they had a reasonably well sized community of Jashinists."

"Yugakure?" Kakuzu repeated. Hidan nodded, beginning to thumb his pendant.

"Yeah, we moved into Konoha my sophomore year. We decided on Juuban because it was closest to the city school. My mom had wanted to send me to a private school, but there was no place close enough to her work sight. We-"

"And what it is your mother does?" Kakuzu inquired. Hidan inhaled, face contorting in thought.

"She works in public relations," he said, "she represents a lot of different people, but we moved to Konoha so she could work for this Tai-jutsu artist uhh...Might something-" Kakuzu abruptly released deep, gruff laugh, shaking his head,

"Might Gai?" He asked with an incredulous tone. Hidan raised a brow, giving a short nod. "Man, Kisame _hates_ that guy." he said. Hidan's annoyed expression quickly turned to one of confusion.

"Why would he hate him?" he asked. Despite the slow moving traffic, Kakuzu couldn't help but laugh to himself and shake his head at the irony.

"They went to the same Tai-jutsu trainer," Kakuzu explained, "and I guess that 'Might Gai', had a lot of trouble remember Kisame's name, despite that Kisame was the only other member at the same level as him." Hidan nodded, now understanding.

"I've only met the guy once," Hidan said admittedly, "seemed off his rocker if you ask me." Kakuzu nodded, still seemingly quite amused. Hidan sighed, looking ahead of them once more and staring intently into the bright red glow of the brake lights on the blue Kia Sephia ahead of them. "Man, what the hell is with this traffic?" he whined, sitting forward in his seat in an attempt to stretch his neck to see above the row of cars.

Beside him, Kakuzu rested his left elbow on his driver's side window, then propped his head against his knuckles. He glanced in his side view mirror, noting that there were now many cars stopped behind them as well. His eyes shifted to his rear view mirror, and it became apparent that the rows of cars were disappearing into the darkness of the interstate.

"Yeah, this is one hell of a traffic jam," he said, now doing as Hidan had, and straining to look over the sea of motor vehicles. They both sighed, and once again, there was an uncomfortable silence.

Ahead of them, it seemed the couple it in Kia had given up on getting out of this soon, and were now engaged in a rousing match of tonsil hockey. Kakuzu groaned with annoyance and disgust.

"You gotta be kidding me," he sneered under his breath. Hidan looked over at him, then proceeded to follow his line of vision to the couple now glued together at the lips.

"If they start going at it I'm walking home," Hidan said jokingly. Kakuzu huffed.

"People in this world have no sense of decency anymore." He said bitterly. Hidan glanced over at him, recognizing the same annoyed look in his eyes that he'd seen early that night, when they'd spotted Deidara and Sasori in the back seat.

"Not all public affection is bad," Hidan said, though in a harsher tone that he intended, "You shouldn't take such offense to it. I mean it's a free country man." Upon feeling the burning glare of Kakuzu's eyes on him, Hidan abruptly turned to look out the window once more. Wow, this fella was temperamental! "Anyways," Hidan added, "That's rather old fashioned thinking. People are-"

"Old fashioned?" Kakuzu interrupted.

"Yeah," Hidan blurted. "People make out in public all the time-"

"And what if I don't want to see it-"

"Then don't look!" Hidan finally turned to look at him, and instantly wished he hadn't. All you could see of his face were the man's eyes, but that's all you really needed to feel the anger admitting from him. "Why does it bother you so much anyways?" Despite his biting words and the sturdiness of his tone, Hidan was seriously contemplating leaping out of the truck and making a run for it. This guy was easily twice the muscle size of him, and though Hidan was no small fry, he knew he didn't stand a chance if Kakuzu started throwing punches. Hidan slowly stared moving his hand toward the door handle.

"I think it's rude, not only to those who have to witness it, but to your partner as well," he said. Hidan's face twisted in confusion,

"What?"

"It takes away from the exclusiveness of it." Kakuzu explained, "It takes away from the importance of having alone time at all. People today wear their sexual desires on their sleeves. They fight in the streets, make out in the streets, and they don't care who's watching. How is that a relationship if everyone and their mother is a part of it?"

"Oh c'mon. They're not forcing anyone to watch, and besides they're _just_ kissing!" Hidan released his hold on the door handle. At this point, both men were leaning over in their seat, pointedly giving each other a stare down as their faces inched closer. "Ya know what I think?" Hidan challenged, still leaning over despite the force of the seat belt holding him back.

In the back of his mind, a little voice was saying _'You're drunk. Shut Up. You wouldn't have the balls to say this if you were sober, and there's a good reason for that_.' Alas, despite his mind's protests, the words rapidly began spilling from his lips.

"I think you're bitter because you never leave yourself enough time for things like that. Kisame said you haven't dated anyone since you got to college. I think you're just angry they have something you don't!" Hidan voice raised dramatically in that last portion, and he crossed his arms smugly, as though having won a great battle. Kakuzu's eyes shifted in his direction.

"You asked about my dating history?" Kakuzu said, low and gruff. Hidan furrowed his brows, not quite processing the question. "So what then? You wanted to know if I was single?" His tone was humorous and mocking, and Hidan was finally catching on.

"No!" he hollered defensively, "We were talking about everyone, it wasn't just you-"

"Sure, sure," Kakuzu waved his hand lazily at Hidan, turning his head to once again face the road. Hidan could swear he was smirking under that mask!

"Seriously man, we-"

"Frankly kid, you're just not my type," Kakuzu mused nonchalantly, blatantly cutting Hidan short, his voice dripping with a droll undertone. Hidan's frustration was rapidly morphing into anger, and he was pretty sure he'd just been insulted.

"And what the hell is so wrong with me? At least I don't wear some creepy ass mask over my face."

_'Shut up.'_ His mind said.

"I mean what's with that?"

_'Seriously, Shut. Up.'_

"Are you robbing a bank or something?" Hidan was talkative enough normally, but Kakuzu was quickly discovering that when upset, he became an unstoppable blabbing machine. And the noise emitting from that pretty mouth of his was beginning to make Kakuzu's ears bleed. "And what's with the marks on your arms? Are those stitches or some kind of fucked up body branding thing or what?"

Very pretty mouth.

"That's none of your business you spoiled little brat." Kakuzu forced himself to look away again, and was praising the heavens that the traffic was _finally_ moving.

"Spoiled brat?" Hidan scoffed. It was worth noting that the platinum-haired boy was still leaning forward in his seat. "You're the one here actin' like your shit don't stink!" he snapped.

"For the love of God kid I didn't mean anything by it! I was just messin' with you!" Just then, the traffic began to break up, "Finally!" Kakuzu hollered as the cars around them were speeding up, and he darted into the next lane, flooring the truck with unwarranted force. Hidan's body slid back with a thud at the sudden momentum, and he fell silent.

"Oh," He murmured. Hidan glanced away, wearily eyeing the scar that circled Kakuzu's forearm. After a few seconds of silence, he inhaled sharply, "So," he mused, "really what's with the stitches?"

"None of your damn business," Kakuzu repeated. Hidan huffed,

"Dude, I'm not trying to insult you or anything, seriously-"

"Well you are," Kakuzu snapped, "You're asking a personal question. I've known you for no more than 3 hours."

"Listen buddy-"

"I'm not your buddy,"

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Again, Hidan was leaned forward, eyes wide as saucers and hands failing about dramatically as he spoke, "Seriously, how rude can you be? And anyways, you asked ME personal questions!"

"When?" Kakuzu asked, brows furrowed in doubt.

"You asked about my plans, and about my mother!" Kakuzu shrugged nonchalantly,

"I wouldn't quite call _those_ personal, and besides, you pretty much offered up most of that information." Hidan was annoyed beyond reasonable comprehension. His feet were planted firmly against the floor, tight with tension as he thumbed his pendant fiercely between his fingers. "Have you considered religious studies?"

Hidan's head snapped up, and he stared at the masked man with a quizzical expression.

"What?" Kakuzu was bending over slightly as he made a turn, seemingly checking street signs,

"After high school, there are a number of universities on this side of the country with religious studies. I don't know if there's a program that caters specifically to Jashinism, but there are many private schools that allow a broad study of religion without affiliating to a specific one." Hidan's eyes were darting side to side in his head as he was processing Kakuzu's words. "I believe there's a Franciscan school about 3 hours north of here that has a 4-year religious studies program."

"You minor in guidance counseling?" Hidan asked comically. Kakuzu let out a small amused huff.

"Alright, we're in Juuban." he said, "Which direction should I be going?" Hidan quickly sat up again, taking in his surroundings.

"Uh, we're gonna keep straight for like two miles. I'll let you know when we get near the turn." He said. Kakuzu nodded, again relaxing in his seat.

"So, you, Kisame and Sasori all go to Akatsuki University?" Kakuzu nodded with an _'uh-huh'._ "So why AU?" Hidan asked. Kakuzu's brows lifted in a blasé sort of way.

"They offered me a decent scholarship." he said, "It was the best place I could get into for the cheapest tuition." Kakuzu was taken back a bit by the small laugh that emitted from Hidan.

"You really are a numbers guy," he said with a grin. After that, Hidan began blabbering on about how math was one of his worst classes and how much he hated numbers. To be honest, Kakuzu didn't hear a word of it. Without realizing it, Kakuzu had dazed off, unknowingly taking numerous glances at the boy sitting in his passenger seat. Frankly, Kakuzu wasn't sure why he'd offered Hidan a ride home. It had just sorta slipped out of his mouth. The kid was at least at interesting. Noisy, but interesting. And he had one heck of a pretty mouth...

"Right here. This driveway on the left." Hidan's voice chimed. Kakuzu's brain quickly recovered from its daze, and he realized they'd gone quite a ways out of the main center of the district to now a much more wooded area. He eased on the brake, slowly creeping into the long driveway.

The house wasn't visible from the end of the driveway, but once they'd rounded the bend, Hidan's country cottage home came into view. It was gorgeous, to say the least. Not overly large and extravagant, but quaint.

Many areas of the brick walls, and a few spots on the car port, had overgrown leaves, and the lattice that covered the porch and filled the space between the port pillars were reminiscent of an old European home. The roofs were steep with thick shingles, and the windows shadowed by venetian blinds. A warm golden glow emitted from the forger windows; a light left on for Hidan's return.

"The driveway circles the house, so you can just pull through the port and go around." Hidan explained as he unbuckled himself. He opened the door, and hopped down from the large truck, "You cool to drive home man? You want some coffee or anything?" Hidan asked, large fuchsia eyes looking up at Kakuzu. The dark-haired man shook his head,

"I'm good," he said. Hidan nodded in acknowledgment.

"Alright. Well thanks for the ride!" he said. Kakuzu gave him a small nod, and Hidan slammed the door shut, hurriedly making his way to his front door. Kakuzu watched as the boy fumbled with his keys, then began to pull through the port once Hidan made it inside. He rounded the house as told, noting the large back deck. A nice little patio, a covered Jacuzzi, and what looked like an old chimney on the roof.

Hidan _was_ a spoiled brat.

Kakuzu made his way around, then back to the driveway. Peeking in the rear-view mirror once last time, Kakuzu saw an upstairs light flicker on, and the silhouette of Hidan appeared. As the form began to make the distinct movements of the removal of clothing, Kakuzu quickly sped up, ears burning a bit.

From his window, Hidan watched as Kakuzu made his way to the end of the driveway. He looked both ways, then pulled back onto the main strip, car revving loudly as he leaned back, a gorgeous, well-toned arm once again hanging lazily over the wheel.

Hidan snickered, cheeks tainted pink, "...total douche-bag."

* * *

Kakuzu's drive home had been much more pleasant. Rather than Hidan's incessant talking, he was listening to the local AU student radio station. Though, despite his best efforts, he couldn't help but imagine that the lips of whomever was DJing weren't quite as alluring as those of Hidan's.

As he parked his truck in the student parking lot, he forcefully began to push the thoughts aside. The bitter cold October night air was quite helpful in that, and he quickly made his way to his townhouse, approaching the door just as a familiar red Chevy Cobalt made its way into the lot.

"Dude, hold the door!" Sasori called as he drove passed, being forced to find a parking spot much further back, as the close ones were taken up by students who were smart enough to use campus transportation rather than losing their prime parking spots. There was nothing worse than having a Monday morning 8 a.m. class and having to travel to the back of the lot for your car.

Kakuzu, being the good friend he was, didn't wait. Instead he left the hallway carpet jammed in the door. This was a common gesture in the townhouses, as it eliminated that painful hassle of fumbling with your keys while intoxicated. However, the maintenance people never took kindly to it (a safety hazard or something silly like that).

Kakuzu made his way inside, ignoring the soft moaning admitting from Kisame's room at the end of the hall. Sasori and Kakuzu had made a point to give said roommate the last room, not because they were nice (as it was easier to move furniture in there), but because it would hopefully prevent the sounds of Kisame's and Itachi's "alone time" from resonating throughout the townhouse. Kakuzu sighed resentfully as Sasori entered, realizing there would now being another noisy couple residing here.

The soft tapping of Sasori texting signaled to Kakuzu that there was no need to look up and acknowledge his friend, however, Sasori stopped at Kakuzu's door, leaning against the frame as he closed his cell phone shut.

"You get Hidan home okay?" He asked. Kakuzu scoffed as he slid off his jacket, tossing his keys and wallet onto his desk.

"Yes, and you're welcome," He said, eyeing his friend. Sasori cocked an eyebrow at this. "I got caught in traffic with the spoiled brat." he explained. Sasori sighed,

"I could've driven him." he said.

"Well it was either drive him home or stay with him at the bar since Itachi came to fetch Kisame around midnight." Sasori 'ah' with acknowledgment.

"Well thanks again man," he said, then moved to make his leave. Kakuzu nodded, not bothering to look back again as he heard his door shut. He exhaled heavily as he kicked his shoes off, not bothering to change out of his jeans before plopping on the bed. As he closed his eyes, he faintly heard the familiar sounds of a squeaking mattress, and the muffled rumble of a party upstairs.

Just two more days and everyone would be off on midterm break and he'd be left to study in peace and quiet for an entire week.

"Oh God Kisame, _harder_!"

... just two more days.


	4. Chapter 4

Morning had come all too quickly for Hidan. Mostly because he was being forced awake before his intended alarm setting. His phone was blaring loudly, begging to be answered. Hidan's pale hand emerged from the sheets of his bed, fumbling through the items on his night stand until it landed on the familiar shape of his cellphone.

His hand recoiled back into the sheets, cell phone in tow.

"Hello?" Hidan answered tiredly.

"Hey man, you busy today, un?" came the far too peppy voice of Deidara.

"Yeah." Hidan said flatly.

"Oh," came the blonde's voice, quite dejectedly, "What are you doin'?" he asked.

"Sleeping." Hidan replied. On the other end he heard his friend sigh with annoyance.

"I'm coming over." Deidara informed.

"What-yaaaaaaawh-what time?" Hidan asked through a yawn.

"In like an hour, I gotta do a few things for mom first, un." he said. Hidan nodded in acknowledgment, though his friend couldn't see it.

"Sounds good." Hidan snapped his phone shut, lazily tossing it back on his night stand. He rolled over, intent on returning to the world of sleep, just as his alarm sounded.

After Deidara arrived, the day flew by rather quickly, especially after multiple hours playing Call of Duty. Though Hidan appreciated the original game, they'd recently (as in 3 months ago) discovered the Nazi Zombies bonus feature, and had been addicted ever since. Resonating through the surround sound, a hoarse, demonic voice bellowed,

"_**Insta Kill**_!" Ah yes, a voice Hidan had come to know and love.

"Yeayah Insta Kill!" Hidan repeated with much vigor.

"Dude, just start stabbing them, un, you get more money that way," Deidara said from his reclined position on the sofa. He absently began reaching for his soda can, but was continually missing it for he refused to tear his eyes from the screen.

"Yeah, yeah I know," Hidan retorted. The boys were finally making it up to the higher game levels of the newest expansion pack, after finally figuring out how avoid those Jashin-damned zombie dogs. And, they had the ray-gun.

The familiar sound of an engine running, followed by the slamming of a car door signaled that Hidan's mother was home. A few moments later, the door opened, and the clicking of heels against hardwood quickly approached them.

"Hello there boys!" Hidan's mother greeted,

"Hey Ma," they said in unison. After two years of being practically glued at the hip in school, after school and on weekends, Deidara felt fully comfortable referring to Hidan's mother, Shiro, as his second mother.

"Glad to see you fellas have had a productive day," Shiro said, leaning over the sofa to peer down at the array of empty plates that never made it to the kitchen, a pyramid of soda pop cans and potato chip bags already have gone (and she'd been grocery shopping just yesterday).

"Level 35 is definitely productive mom," Hidan said as he and Deidara slowly began to sit up, now maneuvering violently as if pressing the buttons harder would make their avatars move faster. "And the laundry's done and the trash is taken out." Hidan informed, "I'll rake tomorrow."

Shiro smiled, reaching down and planting a kiss on her son's temple, her long, thin silver hair - pulled back in a pony-tail - falling over her shoulder as she did so.

"You staying for dinner Dei?" She asked as she shrugged her coat off her shoulders.

"If that's-oh crap, shoot him, shoot him! I'm down-!"

"-Hold on! Fucking hell, man-!"

"-Uh, if that's alright!" Shiro smiled, brows raised with amusement.

"I'll get started then," she said, and made her leave, kicking off her heels as she exited.

"Dude, he was right there, un!" Deidara whined as he watched Hidan's avatar be mauled by yellow-eyed zombies before his friend could come revive him.

"Hey man, you died first," Hidan retorted. The boys sighed as the words 'Game Over' produced on the screen, and they were returned to the main menu.

"So you're coming to my exhibition next Friday, right?" Deidara asked, finally getting that drink of soda. Hidan turned to look at his friend, then nodded.

"Of course!" He said. Deidara smiled at that.

"Sasori's gonna be there too. He has like 5 students in the show, un." Hidan's brows raised in acknowledgment as he took a sip of his own drink.

"D'aww, are you jealous you won't have him all to yourself?" Hidan said mockingly. Deidara rolled his eyes,

"No," he said pointedly. "But we're all gonna go out afterward. Like to grab some food or something." he said. Hidan mused.

"And you're parents aren't suspicious?" he asked. Deidara shook his head,

"No, I mean, Sasori just tells them I have a lot of promise-" Hidan snorted at that, "Shut up. But I've also mentioned I'm considering going to AU, so going to hang out with him on campus is like...less weird, un." Deidara was staring down into his soda can, twirling the metal cylinder in his hands as he spoke. Hidan sighed, hunching over to rest his elbows on his knees.

"So they think you're just really good friends?" Deidara laughed a little,

"Yeah," he said. Still, he was fidgeting a bit.

"And you still haven't heard back from AU yet?" Deidara looked up at his friend and slowly shook his head. "Stop worrying about it so much," Hidan said, giving Deidara's shoulder a small shove. "Your grades are awesome and you've gotten a letter of recommendation from one of their best students. You're gonna get in," Hidan stated, matter-of-factly.

Deidara nodded, releasing a small breath of relief.

"Yeah, it's just...things have been going so great with Sasori... and I just can't wait to be outta that house." He admitted. "Having that letter would just really make it seem like it wasn't a whole year away-"

"11 months now, and stop being so eager to leave me," Hidan snapped, now beginning to collect some of their dirty plates off the table. Deidara laughed, following in suit,

"Any idea what you wanna do after graduation yet?" he asked. Hidan shrugged as they got up from the couch, heading toward the kitchen.

"What do you think of religious studies?"

* * *

The week went by rather quickly for Kakuzu, but he was pleased to say he'd gotten through his work without any problems. Unlike most students who'd vacationed all week and would be returning Sunday, scrambling to get their work done before classes resumed, Kakuzu had worked every day this week, and done all his assignments up to the next quarter.

Of course, the only downfall of that was now he wouldn't have an excuse to stay in on Halloween. Though, he was sure Zabuza would be interested in having Halloween night off of work.

His thought process was cut short as the familiar sound of the townhouse door opening alerted his senses. His brows furrowed and he got up from his desk, peeking out his bedroom door. Sasori was making his way inside, fighting unsuccessfully with the door lock that had a tendency to eat his key. Never Kisame's or Kakuzu's. Always Sasori's.

"Damn door," the ginger snarled, lifting up on the knob, hoping jiggling it would loosen it up.

"I didn't know you were coming back early," Kakuzu said as he approached. Sasori stepped aside as Kakuzu's much larger hand reached for the keys, forcefully prying them loose. Sasori pulled his scarf off his neck and unzipped his jacket.

"Thanks," He said as Kakuzu handed him his keys and closed the door. "Yeah, a bunch of my students having an exhibition downtown tonight." Sasori informed as he entered the common room.

_Downtown. _

Downtown wasn't really 'downtown' technically, but it was how people in this area referred to it. Akatsuki University, though technically part of Konoha, was more of a subsidiary hamlet, as it had its own zip code. The reason for this was it's significant distance from the city hall.

Konoha itself was made up of many different districts, some rural, some residential and a few that were more urban; where most of the schools and business were located. And of course, the whole city was surrounded by hills and hills of forestry.

Not far east into the hills (about 20 minutes on the metro) was 'downtown'. You'd basically ride from the heart of Konoha's urban area to the center of 'downtown' (for the record, it's formally called the Nigiyakana basho district), where along the main strip you'd find a number of bars, night clubs, restaurants and theaters. Some of the surrounding roads had a few stores, and beyond that, there was a generous number of residential houses.

Then, about 10 minutes south from downtown, you'd find AU nestled in the small hamlet of the Daigaku district. It was actually only a 15 minute ride southeast from Konoha's main hub to Daigaku. The set-up was convenient, as it separated residential from city, and residential from college students. In addition, it was a sort 15 minute ride for college students to go into the city for necessities, and more importantly, a fast 10 minute metro ride for college students into downtown.

Plus, the metro closing at midnight meant underclassmen without their own rides would have to disperse early, leaving the bars to the upperclassmen.

"You drove 6 hours from home, 2 days early, for an exhibition?" Kakuzu asked skeptically. Sasori shrugged as he slid off his jacket.

"Deidara's exhibiting." He said plainly. Kakuzu's 'oh'ed, nodding knowingly, then making a move back to the kitchen to find something from the fridge. Sasori exhaled heavily, straining his neck to look over the at the wall clock. "I should leave in like, 20. You wanna tag along?" he asked. Kakuzu peeked over the fridge door with brows raised. Sasori laughed to himself, "Right, sorry." he said.

"I'm probably going to make some mac 'n cheese. You want me to leave you some?" Kakuzu asked as he pushed his hand through their overly stuffed fridge, unsuccessfully searching for the butter. Unfortunately, overly stuffed didn't mean they had a lot of food. Kisame had a horrible habit of wrapping things up, then leaving them in the fridge for weeks. Initially, Kakuzu and Sasori gotten on his case about it, but after two years of nagging him with no results, they instead agreed to keep their mouths shut, and allow him to eat food far past its expiration date.

Itachi had been an incredible force against this bad habit, however, it was obvious he hadn't been through their fridge lately. Itachi didn't actually live in the townhouses (being a freshman, he was still required to live in the dormitories), but he may as well have. He had an entire drawer to himself in Kisame's room, and a portion of the closet. It was a rare occasion that the Uchiha _didn't_ stay the night.

"No thanks, I'm taking Deidara and Hidan to dinner afterward," Sasori said. After finally finding the butter, Kakuzu reemerged from behind the fridge.

"_And_ Hidan?" Kakuzu repeated. Sasori nodded, leaning against the bar - parallel to Kakuzu -that separated the kitchen from the common room as stitched business major began filling a pan with water.

"Yeah," he mused, eyes being drawn to the stainless steel pot, which made a whistling sound as the water hit it. "Deidara is still worried it'll seem like a date, so he feels more comfortable doing the group thing." Sasori explained, glancing up at Kakuzu once the pan had filled and he turned the water off. "His parents don't know he's uh..." Kakuzu nodded knowingly. He sighed, then poured the water down the drain.

"So are we talking restaurant or fast food?" he asked. For a moment, Sasori only gave him that same bored expression he always displayed, then he inhaled sharply.

"I was thinking pizza." he said. "That cheap enough for you?" Kakuzu smirked slightly.

"Doesn't matter to me, you're buying." He said smugly, then rounded the bar to fetch his coat. Sasori shook his head, looking down at the now deserted pan on the counter, and laughed to himself.

* * *

"How's it look, un?"

"Like you're going to kill us all." Hidan replied, wearily eyeing the high volumes of small clay honey bees clustered around a clay hive that was strung up from a high rise beam in the ceiling. It was apparently the centerpiece of Deidara's display.

Hidan made his way through what was currently considered an installation piece, at least until it all blew up. For the first two hours of the exhibition, you could actually walk through Deidara's display and note the detail of his clay pieces. Some were recognizable, such as the honey bee hive. It was a white hive, covered with golden shimmering honey bees, all crafted individually with incredible detail.

Deidara had first started working on the back of the installation, initially crafting a golden ring that would emerge from the ground. Following that he'd made what eventually became something reminiscent of trees. The trunks were molded up from the back wall, texturized to become 3D as they came out to frame the display, like something of a border. The roots wove in and out of the ground through other displays, and the branches stretched out far above the viewers head, almost the full length of the 15 by 15 foot installation.

The only support for the display was the single installed back wall. Everything else was held up through a series of translucent wires wound through the floor and up into the high-rises of the exhibition facility. You had to actually maneuver around the wires and clay pieces themselves to get through the display.

Deidara took a bit of pride in the fact that this building was specially chosen to accommodate his exhibition.

Also recognizable were a number of brown clay nests, containing small bluish clay eggs, supported by the tree branches. From the nests, wires were protruding to shelve the birds that were pierced through the midriff to be hung mid-air. On the floor sat a number of matted bushes, and hanging from them were small cocoons. Wired from those cocoons were butterflies, also suspended in-flight.

Less-recognizable were a number of clumps of clay, displayed randomly throughout the floor. Deidara had put less care into their appearance, but claimed they were representative of certain animals.

After he'd spent considerable amount of time examining the details of Deidara's display, Hidan finally stepped back, taking in the picture as a whole.

"And...all of this is going to explode?" he asked. Deidara, who had obviously already started downing his Red Bulls, nodded vigorously, eyes wide as saucers and emitting a ridiculous abundance of excitement. Hidan grinned. "Awesome."

Thoroughly please with Hidan's response, Deidara flung his arms around Hidan's neck, choking him in a bear hug as his baby-blue eyes glanced over his display one last time.

"This is going to be friggin' EPIC man!" Deidara exclaimed.

"We're gonna need more caffeine then!" Hidan said, matter-of-factly, and finally prying the blonde's arm from around his throat. The boys turned to each other, bending at the knees so their foreheads shushed together, and deep from the pits of their throats, they roared in unison:

"**Rrrrrrrred Buuuuuuuull**!" which was -of course- directly followed by a chest bump. The boys then made a bee line for the corner of the room, where Deidara had his stash of energy drinks. As they turned though, they were immediately met by two sets of curious eyes.

"That was... weird," Kakuzu said, brows raised as he stared down at the flabbergasted boys. Sasori's head was cocked to the side, aloof eyes reflecting a hint of amusement. Hidan and Deidara immediately tensed up, unaware they'd had an audience. Granted, this behavior wasn't out of the ordinary for them, and rarely did they pay any mind to whom may watching. However, Deidara's relationship with Sasori was still budding, and frankly he didn't want to make an ass of himself right off the bat.

And Hidan, well...

_'Oh Sweet Jashin, he is __**hella**__ fine...' _ Hidan's ears were burning at his own thoughts and he could feel the lump of nerves forming in the pit of his stomach.

Kakuzu didn't come off as the type of guy to put a whole hell of a lot of care into his appearance, but when he did you sure could tell. As oppose to last Friday, when his hair had been messy and pointing in multiple directions, it was definitely combed tonight, falling neatly around his face. His visible face. No mask.

Hidan felt himself inhale sharply, though doing so didn't ease his nerves. Kakuzu had high cheekbones and a sharp, chiseled jaw line that made him appear much older than he was. The scars that had been evident on his forearms also adorned his face, spreading from his thin, dark lips up to his ears.

From under the collar of his button-up white shirt and heather grey sweater, you could see a scar peeking up from his collarbone to just faintly graze the nape of his neck. A well toned-neck, attached to a set of broad shoulders and muscular chest, evident despite the sweater.

His eyes stared down at Hidan with a hardness that made the Jashinist's stomach turn. Oh wait, maybe that was the Red Bull...

"That part of the exhibition?" Sasori asked jokingly.

"Sorta," Hidan piped nervously. Deidara's head snapped to look at his friend, brows furrowed in confusion.

"No it's not, un." He stated. Hidan's mouth opened slightly as his eyes turned to meet Deidara's.

"Well not THAT specifically," He said, suddenly realizing he'd never shared these inner thoughts with Deidara before and was now recognizing that this moment probably wasn't the most ideal. But it was too late now, and before he knew it the words were spilling past his lips, "But like, I sorta think you're interaction with the viewer is also part of the whole, exhibition experience. Seriously like," Hidan had never been much of a man of words. In fact, he would be the first to admit he typically came across as an idiot. But once he started talking, stopping was a bit of a problem.

And Oh Jashin, they were all looking at him now and he could feel his cheeks getting hot! Oh man, this was bad. _Stop talking Hidan, stop talking!_ "The way you present it, ya know?" He could feel Sasori's and Kakuzu's eyes on him, but he tunneled in on Deidara, too embarrassed to break eye contact.

"Like these blokes just sit and talk about their work and it's super boring and whatever. YOU are sorta the embodiment of your work, ya know. And watching you demonstrate it and explain it is like, also part of the whole 'fleeting experience' you have goin' on..."

Deidara showed no signs of an emotion in his eyes, staring at his friend blankly as he processed his words. "Like, your interaction during your shows is ultimately part of the artistic experience in itself..." Still, no response and Hidan was left with his mouth agape and frankly, not certain anything he said made sense.

"I completely agree," Sasori said, arms now crossed as he reflected Hidan's words. "Your work is unique on its own, but your style of presentation truly is part of the quintessence of your art, and that's what really sets you above the rest."

"Is that what I said? Because that sounded way more intelligent." Hidan blurted. As Kakuzu and Sasori shared a laugh, Hidan was finally able to break his gaze from Deidara and calm his razing heart, but Deidara was still staring at Hidan, utterly dumbfounded.

"Oh my God," the blonde finally said, arms falling dead as his sides. "That is like, the coolest thing anyone has ever said to me." His mouth was slightly ajar and he had this incredulous look on his face as he stared at Hidan. "You really mean that?" He asked. Hidan nodded vigorously.

"Fuck yeah dude!" he said, much louder than necessary as other guests and artists looked their way in surprise. "Now c'mon!" He hollered, slapping Deidara's back firmly and pushing him toward the corner of the room. "Let's get this thing goin' man!" Deidara's lips began to pull into a grin, and he nodded.

"Hellz yeah." He said, and with that the boys popped open two cans of Red Bulls, then proceed to chug them down.

"You're _still_ doing that Red Bull thing, really?" Deidara's eyes popped open and he abruptly stopped drinking at the sound of a familiar voice. He smiled as his head snapped up to meet eyes with his elder brother as he entered Deidara's exhibit space, their parents in tow.

"Daisuke-chan!" Deidara exclaimed, running up to greet his brother with a hug, spilling some Red Bull on him in the process. Hidan also approached as Daisuke brushed the substance off, and they reached out to shake hands.

"Hidan! How you doin'?" Daisuke asked. Hidan nodded his head, still swallowing his last gulp.

"Not too bad man!" He said. Daisuke was at least a good foot taller than Deidara, with significantly shorter hair, cut in a modern wispy style. However, their eyes were the same color blue and hair the same shade of blonde. The resemblance was uncanny.

"Oh, ah, Dai-chan, this is my tutor, from AU." Deidara said, nudging his older brother toward Sasori. Daisuke seemed to eye Sasori a bit, as if sizing him up, before reaching out a hand to shake.

"Nice to meet you man." He said, "I hear you've talked Dei into attending Akatsuki." Sasori returned the gesture politely, and was - of course - unfazed by the judgmental stare.

"You as well. We've been discussing some of the details of the visual arts program, but I know there are a few other schools Deidara-san's been looking at as well."

"Sasori-san has been putting long hours into helping Deidara improve his work," chimed the voice of Deidara's mother. She and her husband made their way over to the group, snatching Deidara by the bicep. "Now honey," she said with a soft tug, "Why don't you explain this one to us hmm?" Deidara sighed, nodding and casting a quick, apologetic glance at Sasori.

As Deidara went on to explain the exhibit to his parents, Daisuke made his way over to Hidan and Kakuzu, who were still sorta lingering in the corner.

"You on mid-term break or something?" Hidan asked as Daisuke approached. The blonde nodded, reaching into Deidara's book bag for a Red Bull.

"Yeah, heading back Sunday morning though. I've got a shit tone of work to do." He said, and popped the can open, slowly taking a sip. "Now uh, you're the gay friend, right?" He asked. Hidan huffed, glancing at the floor, but laughing to himself.

"Hold on, let me check my label." Hidan said jokingly, arching his neck and drawing his t-shirt forward to peer at the tag on the back of the collar. Daisuke visibly reddened.

"Sorry man, I just haven't been back in awhile. You both have grown up a lot." he said. Hidan shook his head with a smirk,

"It's cool man, I'm just messing with ya." Daisuke nodded, then gestured toward his brother and family,

"Aaaand, the tutor there, _That's_ the guy by little brother's been seeing?" Again, Hidan offered up a nod. Daisuke sighed, staring across the room as his little brother futilely tried explaining the significance of his display to his insufferable mother. "And mom and dad still haven't caught on?" he asked.

"Nope," Hidan said. "Not a clue." Daisuke nodded,

"Good."

They stood there in silence for a moment, until Daisuke suddenly realized Kakuzu's presence.

"And you'd be?" He asked, leaning back a bit to peer past Hidan's head. Kakuzu, having been a bit of a daze himself (and having nothing to do but eavesdrop since Sasori's had obviously forgotten about him), turned sharply,

"Oh, ah, Kakuzu. I'm here with Sasori." He explained, "Roommates." Daisuke 'ah'ed in acknowledgment.

"Ya know honey, I saw that little Hyuuga girl here a few minutes ago. You should ask her to come see your display." Hidan winced as he watched Deidara's mother, once again, try and encourage her son to pursue a love interest. Deidara always insisted he had too much work to do to have a girlfriend, but his mother thought otherwise, and recently, Hinata Hyuuga had been on her radar.

Hinata was only a freshmen, but her family was well known and respected within their community. Just the type of girl Deidara's mother wanted for her son. "C'mon honey, you don't have to ask her on a date or anything, just to come see your work!"

"Mom, I really don't want to-" Deidara's whining was in vain though, as his mother was annoyingly persistent. Hidan inhaled sharply. This was just way too painful.

"Deidara-chan!" he hollered, far louder than necessary, "Dude, you still gotta stencil me up!" He said. Deidara perked up, hurriedly making his way back over to Hidan.

"That's right! I almost forgot!" He said, and grabbed his backpack, pulling out a slice of paper and a can of red spray paint.

"What's that for?" Sasori asked, growing more confused as Hidan began peeling his t-shirt off. He turned, revealing a rather elaborate painting on his chest that mimicked Deidara's display in a 2D form.

"This is _my_ job." Hidan informed, grabbing his hair in one big chuck and tying it all up into a pony-tail. He fell to his knees as Deidara began taping the paper to his back. Cut out of the paper was the number '16', Deidara's exhibit room number.

"They did this when I was in school," Daisuke informed, "You spray your exhibit number on a t-shirt and have one of your friends walk around with it on. Sorta like a little advertisement." he said. Deidara then began spraying Hidan's back, the number appearing in a bright, bold red against his skin.

"We started doing this junior year, and it usually gets a lot more people to come check out the exhibit." Deidara explained.

"Does he _really_ have to be shirtless, honey?" Deidara's mother inquired, eyeing Hidan with extreme distaste.

"Well it's a lot easier to paint on skin then on fabric mom." Deidara argued. "We did most of it in school today, but I'd forgotten the stencil." he said as he fanned Hidan's back to dry it faster. Deidara's mother rolled her eyes.

"Alright well, your father and I are going to look around a bit. We'll be back before the show starts." She said, giving her husband a light tug.

"Kay, later mom," Deidara said as he slowly peeled the paper off Hidan's back.

"Hey, is that one blonde girl, the one that does those fans, still in your class?" Daisuke asked after sufficiently examining the painting on Hidan's chest.

"Temari?" Hidan inquired. Daisuke nodded,

"Yeah, yeah, her."

"Yeah, she's like, number 8 I think." Deidara said. Daisuke smirked, moving to stand straight again.

"Awesome, I'm gonna go hit on her. I'll be back in a bit bro!" He said, patting his brother's shoulder before hurriedly making his way out the door. Deidara rolled his eyes as he crumpled up the stencil to be thrown away.

"I'll start wandering around then," Hidan informed, plucking a few extra Red Bull from Deidara's bag.

"Sounds good!" the blonde chimed, then turned swiftly to Sasori, finally feeling comfortable now that his parent's were gone. Hidan glanced over at Kakuzu, who was trying to inch his way away from the couple.

"Care for some company?" He asked as he approached Hidan. He'd pushed up his sleeves again, revealing those thick, toned forearms.

Hidan again felt his ears heating up. Deidara hadn't lied, it was easier to paint on skin, but it was no anomaly that people were curious about a shirtless man advertising an exhibit, and without trying to sound conceited, Hidan was in rather good shape.

Back in Yugakure, Hidan's mother had been the PR director for a popular trainer down at the YMCA wellness center, and when he was about 12, Hidan had gotten them to hire him under the table to do some heavy lifting for shows and community functions. After their move, he'd been able to transfer to the Konoha Y-center, and was now working part time. What was cool about it was that while you were scheduled for shifts in the activities center, you could sign up for shifts in any other department.

And of course, he took advantage of the fitness center. He stared down at his stomach and inhaled. He might have been as white as an albino, but at least he was well put-together.

The young zealot shrugged nonchalantly, offering up a quirky smirk.

"Sure man. You want some Red Bull?" He offered. Kakuzu declined with a small wave of the hand, and followed Hidan out of the exhibit room. "Honestly I wouldn't have pegged you as the kinda guy to be into 'the arts' or whatever." Hidan said. Kakuzu offered up only a huff of a laugh, noting the amount of people already giving Hidan a double-take, as well as the abundant amount of other 'walking advertisements'. Seemed this was a popular custom.

"Actually, Sasori explained Deidara's whole parent situation to me," He said, "Figured the whole third wheel thing would be awkward for everybody." Hidan's brows lifted with surprise,

"Aww, so you're here to keep me company?" Kakuzu's stared down at him with those hardened eyes, giving him a rather _'as if'_ expression.

"More like making things a little easier for Sasori," Kakuzu corrected. "Plus, there's a free meal involved." Hidan laughed, now beginning to wave to peers as he passed. "Though Sasori has dragged us along to a number of his exhibitions at school." Kakuzu continued. Hidan nodded knowingly, tossing his Red Bull can in the recyclable bin as he passed it and they rounded the corner to the next hallway.

"I hear ya," he said, "It totally stresses him out, but Deidara loves exhibiting. I haven't missed one yet," he said, again waving into rooms as they passed them.

"That's pretty dedicated." Kakuzu noted with a bit of interest. Hidan shrugged, now popping open the second Red Bull he'd brought along.

"Eh well, they're important to him," Hidan said absently, "And I don't mind much. I mean his work is actually pretty sweet-"

"Hidan-senpai!" the voice made both men turn quickly, as a young pale boy with short black hair emerged from his exhibit room. Hidan inhaled sharply.

"Crap..." he muttered under his breath, "Hey Sai," he said a bit reluctantly. The young awkward boy smiled broadly,

"Good evening Hidan-senpai!" he chimed, leaning forward, directly into Hidan's personal space. "I see you're out advertising for Deidara-kun. I do hope you'll stop by my exhibit as well!" The young Jashinist pursed his lips together, peering over his shoulder to give Kakuzu a '_please help me'_ look. Kakuzu smirked a bit, watching with amusement as the significantly younger boy urged Hidan into his designated room. "I'll bet Deidara-kun has a lot of people at his exhibit, yes?" he asked.

"Yeah," Hidan blurted as he was pushed through the doorway. To be honestly, he was a bit surprised by the amount of students in Sai's exhibit. Most were freshmen though, as Hidan recognized a few, including Deidara non-blood related twin Ino Yamanaka. Ah yes, Ino! Ino would be able to get him out of this! "Hey! Yamanaka!" he called out. The girl with exceptionally long blonde hair turned swiftly from her conversation with that pink-haired friend of hers. She dismissed herself for a moment and approached the young men,

"Hey Hidan! Nice painting." She said, moving her hair out of her eye to examine Deidara's handiwork. Hidan chuckled nervously, completely dismissing her comment,

"Yeah, so what do you think of the exhibition?" he said, as he maneuvered his back toward Sai. He gave Ino a hard stare, eyes wide and shifting in Sai's direction over his shoulder. Ino smirked.

"Oh it's great! But ya know Sai, Sakura and I were checking out that painting over there and we just can't figure out what's going on in it." she said, walking over to her friend and looping an arm through his, "Could you explain it to us?" Sai gnawed on his lip for a moment,

"Yeah, you do that, and we'll browse around!" Hidan said, moving to inch closer to Kakuzu. Sai nodded reluctantly.

"Great!" Ino chimed, giving Sai a soft tug, "See you at the meeting tomorrow Hidan!" the blonde called out as she led Sai across the room.

"Seems like you have a fan," Kakuzu said mockingly. Hidan's browsed raised, and his chest rose and fell with a hint of exhaustion from the uncomfortable situation.

"Well, anytime Deidara and I have a study hall, we go down to the art room, one of which falls during a freshmen class." Hidan explained, now making his way along the walls to gander at Sai's work.

"He's good," Kakuzu offered up, gazing at the 4 by 9 ink painting. Hidan didn't seem incredibly interested,

"Yeah, every class has a few students that are like, really good, but Sai's the only freshmen allowed to exhibit. Normally you're not permitted to until Junior year," Hidan said, skimming the paintings in a bored manor. Kakuzu noticed the significant difference in the way Hidan looked at Deidara's work versus Sai's. Hidan may not come across as incredibly intuitive, but it was obvious he understood and appreciated the concepts of Deidara's rather confusing art style.

Kakuzu hadn't realized it, but he'd stopped looking at the paintings and diverted his full attention to Hidan. The boy was most certainly attractive, there was no denying that. He pursed those pretty lips together as he examined the paintings, fuchsia eyed narrowed critically. Though the strands of his silver hair were small and thin, he had an awful lot of volume. Seeing it up and poking out from that sad little pony-tail was... well quite charming.

"What meeting?" Kakuzu suddenly asked. Hidan turned to look at him, blinking as he processed the words, then recalled Ino's final statement before she'd saved him from Sai.

"Oh, ah," he laughed a bit, turning away to hide his embarrassment. "Well last year, my mom started freaking out about me not having any extra-curricular activities on my college resumes besides soccer," he said, "Since our team sucks and people quit so often we never even get placed for games. " he continued to make his way around the room, Kakuzu following closely behind.

"So what is it you joined?" He asked. Again, Hidan inhaled, seriously debating lying as they exited the exhibit room.

"Well, Ino was trying to build up her resume before she came to the high school so she could get on the national honor society. She decided to start her own club and well, needed more people to join or whatever,-"

"Yes?" Kakuzu encouraged, growing a bit eager seeing how desperately Hidan was trying to avoid answering. Hidan rolled his eyes in defeat.

"The Wombles Club," he said. Kakuzu stuffed his thumbs in his pockets as they walked, facing contorting in confusion.

"Womble?" he repeated, "Isn't that like, a British slang term?-"

" to describe a person who is well-meaning but absent-minded or ineffectual, yes." Hidan said in a tone that indicated he'd said this many times before. "It's an environmental club. We basically go around like planting shit and picking up garbage and random stuff and making like, tools and household items out of them." Hidan explained. Kakuzu looked down at the ground, trying to hide his smirk beneath his hair.

"Hey screw you man," Hidan said forcefully, but was having trouble hiding his own smile.

"It's just, what's with the name?" Kakuzu asked. He realized Hidan was shifting a bit closer to him, though not totally by choice. Now that they were into the first hour of the exhibition, the hallways were really filling up.

"It's like, based off this book from the 1960s about these creepy fucking pointy-nosed, furry creatures that live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish, then making cool shit out of it." He said, now ditching his last Red Bull can. "It got really popular in the 1970s, during the ecology movement." Kakuzu nodded.

"Pretty creative for an environmental club." he said. Hidan shrugged, now feeling even more self-conscious then before.

"Okay well you're a business major, don't you do anything outside of that?" Hidan asked, brows raised.

"Work," Kakuzu said flatly, but before Hidan could ask where, Kakuzu continued, "But in high school I was in DECA." he said. This received a hearty laugh from Hidan.

"DECA?" He echoed. Kakuzu nodded, brows going up with the acknowledgment of the connotations that often went along with DECA clubs.

"Yes, the Distributive Education Clubs of America," Kakuzu said. Hidan was still laughing, shaking his head,

"Well it fits I suppose. It's basically a business club right?" he asked.

"Essentially," Kakuzu said as they entered the next hallway, "it's an international association of students and teachers of marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales and service." Hidan cocked a brow,

"All in one breath?" he mocked. Kakuzu huffed with amusement. "So what exactly did you guys do? Like balance checkbooks all day?"

"Well our club didn't exactly get a huge budget so..."

The next hour had flown by surprisingly fast. Hidan didn't even realized he hadn't been stopping to see friends as he and Kakuzu circled the halls over and over; just talking.

Well, and some good-natured arguing. Seemed while they had plenty to talk about, they had plenty to disagree about too. Normally, Kakuzu would have been put off by such a forceful personality such as Hidan's. He was very verbal and very forward. In essence, a pretty boy that wasn't afraid to shoot his mouth off. Kakuzu didn't like those kinds of people.

Still, he continued to circle the halls with him. He continued to walk with him, exchanging thoughts and opinions. Eventually, Daisuke came across them, giving them a 10 minute heads up before Deidara's demonstration began.

"Shit, it's 7 already?" Hidan mused, pulling his cell phone out of his back pocket, realizing that he'd missed multiple texts in the past 2 hours.

"We should head back," Kakuzu suggested, wearily eyeing the large masses of people cultivating throughout the hallways. The two young men began slowly pushing their way past people, though the majority of the exhibit goers seemed too caught up in their own conversations to be polite enough to move over. Hidan sighed heavily, attempting to maneuver around a small older woman who was taking up enough room so her hands could flail about when she spoke. Hidan shifted to the left, then back to the right. Then to the left again, and sighed.

He could feel Kakuzu's presence painful close behind him. The forced contact from the pressure of the moving crowd was truly unbearable. Kakuzu's arm brushed Hidan's bare back and the young zealot felt a swarm of fluttering bugs break free in his stomach. Finally the woman moved over enough for them to slip through and Hidan darted for Deidara's exhibit room door.

Unfortunately, this room was fully crowded as well.

"I'm gonna follow the walls and circle around," Hidan informed.

"What?" Kakuzu stared down at him with furrowed brows, straining to hear over the abundant chatter. Hidan rolled his eyes, stepping closer and leaning his head up toward Kakuzu's as the taller man arched his neck down. He opened his mouth to speak, inadvertently inhaling.

Heat rose immediately to Hidan's cheeks upon noting how deliciously masculine Kakuzu smelled, then he registered the proximity of their bodies to one another. As if he'd been swatted at, Hidan abruptly stepped back.

This was getting ridiculous. He hated how nervous and uncertain this man made him feel. Hidan was normally brash, foul-mouthed and carried an arrogant demeanor around him. But when he was around Kakuzu, nerves would swell up in the pit of his throat and he'd suddenly find himself feeling incredibly vulnerable.

"Geez man are you deaf? Clean you fucking ears out and follow me!" Hidan snapped, turned abruptly and leading the way around the crowd.

After a moment, he heard Kakuzu holler in his defense,

"It's loud in here!" And it was very loud actually. Tons of people were piling into the seats in front of Deidara's installation, waiting for the big sha-bang to begin. Hidan's head was darting around in search of the familiar blonde ponytail. Kakuzu watched with mild curiosity, amused by the traces of pink still tainting the boy's pale cheeks.

"Hey!" He called out, struggling to keep up as they navigated their way through the crowd. "Hidan!" Kakuzu called again. Still, Hidan didn't turn around, too focused on finding his friend. Kakuzu growled to himself, extending a long arm out ahead of him and grasping firmly onto Hidan's bicep, pulling the boy back toward him.

Hidan felt the pull on his body and spun on his heal, twirling him around with great momentum. Taken aback by the force, Hidan had no choice but to allow himself to be turned around. He clamped up in an attempt to avoid his failing arms from hitting anyone around him, which only resulted in sending his body flying against Kakuzu's.

The tall brunette's long, muscular arms reached out to catch him, his body holding the younger boy up. Instinctively, Kakuzu moved to step away, embarrassed by the collision he'd caused. But the room was far too crowded for them to move, and just then, the lights began to dim

"Idoit, the show's starting!"Hidan hissed, fighting desperately to sound angered as his body was being pressed against Kakuzu's. Suddenly feeling a bit claustrophobic, Hidan huffed angrily, stepping on tip-toe to see Deidara walking in front of the crowd. "He's gonna be so pissed. I'm always up there...with...him."

Hidan's angered face dropped. Like always, Deidara inhaled sharply as he stepped out in front of his artwork, hands wringing together nervously. He glanced out at the crowd, lips tight because - like always - he was chewing on his inner cheek. And like always, he looked to his left, casting a glance at Hidan who leaned against the far wall grinning broadly. But Hidan wasn't there today, giving him a thumbs up to encourage him.

Sasori, red locks just barely falling into his eyes, hands stuffed in his pockets, smiled softly at Deidara. The blonde heaved a sigh of relief, and looked back at the crowd with confidence.

"Here, we can get through this way," Kakuzu said, moving to break through the crowd. Hidan quickly grabbed his arm to stop him though.

"No it's okay," he said softly, eyes never leaving Deidara. "He's...he's cool." Kakuzu stared down at the platinum haired boy with a hint of concern. Kakuzu had learned in the past two hours just how close the two boys were. They were an inseparable pair, almost like brothers.

Deidara had an extremely loving and encouraging family, that went on family trips and played board games together, but one that didn't understand him. One that wasn't okay with anything outside of the norms of society. One with high expectations of their son, that Deidara lived in constant fear of not meeting.

On the contrary, Hidan's mother was a single mom. His dad deserted them about a month before Hidan was born. Shiro worked a lot, which left little family time. Hidan had learned early how to take care of himself. However Shiro was excepting of all her son's decisions, and proud of whatever it was he decided to do.

Hidan had moved to Konoha Sophomore year, during the peak years of social awkwardness and the painful process of teenage development. And together, Hidan and Deidara finally broke away from peer pressures and social structure to find who they were.

Hidan wouldn't say it, but he was terrified of graduation. He was terrified of the prospect of no longer having that constant in his life that was Deidara.

Kakuzu had just witnessed Hidan taking the first steps to preparing for that inevitable day. Hidan's wide fuchsia eyes remained glued on Deidara as he introduced his exhibit. Kakuzu straightened, getting comfortable as the show began to start.

As Deidara left the stage and the lights went down, Hidan took a glance over his shoulder at Kakuzu, who offered up a small smirk.

Hidan smiled to himself, suddenly feeling a bit reassured.


	5. Chapter 5

The soft _tap tap tap_ of fingers pressing against small plastic keys was starting to become like white noise in the Jurenko household. Shiro peeked over at her son from her seated position on the sofa. They'd ordered out tonight so Shiro could get some work done, and Hidan had rented himself a movie after insisting he had no homework to speak of.

Typically, Hidan texted as much as any teenager would: morning, noon and night. However, it seemed like since this past weekend Hidan hadn't put his phone down once. He sat slouched down into the couch, no longer paying any mind to the movie and instead holding the small device up to his face. The soft blue glow reflected in his eyes as they darted back and forth over the screen, reminding Shiro of those brainwashing scenes in all the old 80s flicks.

Alright, she'd had enough. Shiro put down her notebook, and slowly sat up from the couch, making the motions of taking her plate to the kitchen. She quickly deposited the dish in the sink, then made her way back around the living room, slowing as she rounded a very oblivious Hidan. Then with ninja-like reflexes, Shiro snatched the cellphone from her son's fingertips.

"The fuck, mom?" She heard Hidan holler and she quickly made her way back into the kitchen, hoping to give herself time to at least glance at what was on the screen.

'_lol, sounds pretty good to me. I'm sure I'll see you there at some point. I might be working that night.' From: Kakuzu_

Shiro pressed the back button. From Kakuzu. Back. From Kakuzu. Back. Kakuzu. Back. Kakuzu.

"Mom, seriously, what the hell?" Hidan snapped, prying the small device out of his mother's hands. It was far too late though. The damage was done.

"Who's Kakuzu?" she asked, turning to face her son who was already turning red.

"No one!" he hollered defensively, attempting to retreat back to the living room. Shiro grinned broadly, following Hidan as he dropped down on the sofa in a brooding manor.

"Oh honey!" She cooed, smiling and crossing her legs over her lap, body turned to her son. "Do you have a little boyfriend?-" Hidan's eyes rolled into the back of his head and all his limbs fell dead at his sides like a limp noodle. A heavy, wet, limp noodle.

"He's just some guy I've been talking to." Hidan insisted, rolling his head dramatically sharply to look at his mother. "Really mom, it's nothing." Shiro simply smiled, lips pressed firmly together as if she were forcing back what had to be some sort of obnoxious squeal.

"That's quite a lot of texts for just some guy." Shiro said smugly. Hidan inhaled deeply, suddenly feeling very exasperated.

"He's one of Sasori's friends," Hidan explained. He flipped his phone back open, returning to the last message he'd received.

"So he's in college then?" Shiro inquired, this time with a much more skeptical tone. Hidan opted not to answer, now tapping lighting on the keys again. Shiro sighed, pulling her notebook onto her lap and clicking her pen. "Well, if it becomes more that just texting, you be sure to bring him by at some point. I don't want just any boy taking my son out-"

"Mom, I really hope you know how fucking weird that sounds," Hidan said dryly, eyes never leaving his phone. Shiro laughed loudly beside him, forcing a small smile to spread across Hidan's face.

It wasn't that Hidan wanted to keep anything from his mom, really. It was more for his own sake. After Deidara's art exhibition on Friday, the four of them had gone out to a local Pizzeria, and while Sasori and Deidara were swapping saliva in the car, Kakuzu and Hidan had exchanged phone numbers. Sorta.

"You're like, especially bad at this game. Seriously man." Hidan had mocked, jerking the controls violently as his Pacman continued to devour the little blue dots just after narrowly escaping the ghost that took Kakuzu's last guy. Initially, Kakuzu had only watched Hidan play, saying the old 70s arcade game wasn't worth wasting the money. Once Hidan had offered up his own quarters though, Kakuzu had caved.

"Tch," Kakuzu scoffed, leaning over the side of the overly large game box. "Looks to me like you only have one guy left," he said with a teasing tone. Hidan eyed him for a second, trying futilely to keep the smirk from stretching over his lips.

"You just watch." he said. Hidan gritted his teeth, body moving along with the movements of his hands as he desperately held on to his last Pacman life. He bellowed loudly with displeasure as his cellphone sounded.

"Damnit!" He cursed. "Here Kakuzu, you play." He'd said, moving over and allowing Kakuzu's much larger hands to grasp firmly around the controls. Hidan stepped back, quickly flipping his phone open, "Hello?...Dude we've been waiting in here like...okay...tch, right. Yeah, yeah, we'll be out in a sec."

"Deidara?" Kakuzu inquired as Hidan slid his phone shut. Hidan nodded, now taking the spot beside the game that Kakuzu had occupied only moments ago.

"Yeah, they're ready to leave I guess," Hidan said. He'd hoped it hadn't sounded as dejected as he thought it did. To be quite honest, Hidan had enjoyed hanging out with Kakuzu. Granted, there were times it seemed more like they were engaged in a heated debate rather than playful banter, but in never lasted for more than a few minutes. And truthfully, Hidan rather liked Kakuzu's witty comments and at times snark attitude. It was endearing.

And though Kakuzu had failed to give much, if any, personal information about himself, Hidan had in fact learned quite a bit about him. The only thing Kakuzu had told him was that he was originally from Takigakure, but had been relocated to Konoha after the death of his parents, whom had been caught in the middle of a police/suspect crossfire during a failed armed robbery. He was at the babysitters at the time, and was far too young to remember it or them. For both their sake's, Hidan had opted not to pry further, though he doubted Kakuzu would have had much else to say.

But Kakuzu had plenty to say about current events, local politics and how much money Hidan had spent on goodies at the Pizzeria. For a guy who wasn't incredibly social, he verbalized his opinions very clearly. He was intelligent, well rounded and

"So hott."

"What?" Kakuzu cast a quick glance at Hidan, but quickly turned back to face the screen, gritting his teeth nervously as he narrowly escaped a ghost. Hidan cleared his throat, realizing what he'd said and thankful Kakuzu hadn't heard.

"Nothing." he blurted. He inhaled deeply, running a hand through his platinum hair as he began to put his wallet and cellphone back in his pocket. That was when he noticed Kakuzu's cellphone on the side panel of the game board. Hidan stared at it for a moment, then up at Kakuzu. Throughout the whole night, Kakuzu had been painfully honest with Hidan about all his thoughts and view points, and hadn't been afraid to pick on him or call him out for something stupid. He'd been forward and direct, which Hidan had liked.

Hidan wondered how Kakuzu would react if he did the same.

He supposed there was only one way to find out. Hidan swiftly snatched up the cellphone, then turned to lean his back against the body of the arcade game, and flipped the little device open. Kakuzu lifted a brow,

"And what is it you're doing?" He asked. Hidan didn't look up at him, but smirked.

"Making a call." He said smugly.

"Minutes cost money you know," Kakuzu said, then sighed in defeat as his final pacman died.

"Verizon to Verizon is free smart ass." Hidan said, turning to lean over the game and holding Kakuzu's cellphone out as it made the call. Kakuzu crossed his arms in annoyance, but waited to see what it was Hidan was up to. A moment later, Hidan's cellphone sounded. Hidan smirked proudly to himself, pulling his phone back out of his pocket to answer the call.

"You called yourself?" Kakuzu inquired, snatching his phone back from Hidan's small pale hand as the boy held it out to him. He stared at Hidan expectantly as he typed into his phone, and then snapped it shut. Hidan grinned, barring his shiny teeth and leaning his upper body in closer to Kakuzu.

"Now I've got your number," He said, then stuffed his hands in his pockets and made his way out of the Pizzeria.

Two hours later, Kakuzu had sent the first text message. Now it was Wednesday, Oct 28th.

Halloween was falling on a Saturday this year, and Sasori's and Kakuzu's neighboring apartment was having a party, to which Deidara and Hidan had been invited. Hidan cast a glance at his mother. He'd been wondering all week just how she'd react. Obviously Deidara intended to lie to his parents, claiming to be at Hidan's house for a super awesome, red-bull infused, Halloween Nazi Zombie action night.

Which was exactly how Deidara had pitched it. Hidan always wondered why Deidara never joined the theater club. He'd spent so many years lying to his parents, Hidan believed that had to warrant some sort of acting skill.

As oppose to Deidara however, Hidan wasn't too keen on lying to his mother. He'd never really needed to, as she was generally a very open minded woman, and trusted her son. Was a college party out of that comfort zone though? While Hidan was desperately afraid she'd say no, he was more afraid of the repercussions of finding out her son lied to her.

"Mom," Hidan said. Shiro 'hmm'ed, eye brows raising with acknowledgment, though she didn't look up from her paperwork. Hidan cleared his throat. "Mom uh... Deidara and I are planning to go to this Halloween party at AU this weekend. With Sasori." He said. Slowly, Shiro looked up at her son. She was quiet for a moment, showing no signs of emotion in her eyes, which made Hidan nervous. She inhaled, long and deep, breaking eye contact and rolling the thought around in her brain.

"And Kakuzu?" She asked. Hidan thought that over for a minute,

"Maybe." He said, "He might have to work that night." Shiro nodded slowly.

"Alcohol?"

"...Probably." Shiro sighed in the heavy, mom sort-of way that gave the impression that she was none-too-happy. She leaned over, setting her paperwork on the coffee table.

"You have a place to stay?" She asked. Hidan nodded,

"Yeah, Sasori said we could stay at their place. They have two couches and a cot." He informed. Shiro nodded again, pursing her lips together firmly.

"Okay," she said, turning to look her son directly in the eyes, "Once you get there, I don't want you leaving or getting in a car with anyone for any reason. If the party's there, you stay there. If you need to go somewhere that badly, you have feet." she said firmly. Hidan nodded vigorously. "Now I won't make you call me, but if I text you, I expect you to text back. Just let me know you're okay and everything's cool. People won't know you're texting your mom." she said. Again, Hidan nodded. Shiro sighed, nodding as well, though more to herself, "and if you're going to drink please do it smart. You and Deidara stay together and if anything goes on with this Kakuzu, please honey, use protection-"

"Mom, seriously, we're just talking!-" Hidan exclaimed.

"Hidan!" Shiro snapped firmly, finger rising to point at Hidan discernibly. Her eyes were wide and brows raised in the mother's 'don't you be arguing with me' fashion. Hidan sighed with annoyance but nodded, none the less. Shiro breathed deep, then leaned back into the couch. "So what are you dressing up as?" She asked.

"We were thinking maybe ninja?"

* * *

"He won't notice if we switch. You know he's not going to come in. As long as the paychecks even out-"

"Dude, if you really don't want to go out on Halloween that badly, just tell them that!" Kakuzu sighed as Zabuza declined yet another offer to switch shifts. Initially, Kakuzu had just offered to take the night for him, but since Kakuzu took so many hours last week, he was given a max quota this week, meaning he couldn't pick up any more than 35. He'd already worked 10 hours on Sunday and 6 hours every night this week. And with him working another 6 hour shift on Friday, that left only one hour available. Kakuzu eyed Zabuza skeptically.

"You know as well as I do Kisame won't let up if he knows I'm off." he said sharply, pulling up the count out sheet to close up for the night as Zabuza finished wiping down tables.

"Sorry man, Haku is already set on going out on Friday, and he'll be pissed if I change plans again." Zabuza said, "I guess you'll just have to suck it up and socialize." Zabuza smiled smugly, which only earned a small snarl from Kakuzu. He opened his mouth to retort, but stopped short when his cellphone vibrated in his back pocket. He pulled it out to read the message, then sighed with annoyance when he'd realized he'd stopped counting. He put the cellphone on the counter, now trying to remember which stack of bills he was on.

After finishing his clean-up, Zabuza rounded back around the cash register, just as Kakuzu's cellphone vibrated again.

"Dude, who have you been texting all day?" He asked, plucking the small phone up from the counter. Kakuzu reached out to snatched it back, which only encouraged Zabuza to back away.

'_That sucks. Well Dei and I will probably get there around 9 or so. Hope you get out early!' From Hidan. _

"You ever heard of mannors?" Kakuzu snapped, grabbing the cellphone out of Zabuza's hands with unwarranted force. Zabuza cocked an eyebrow with interest.

"Who's Hidan?"

"None of your damn business."

"You're awfully defensive."

"You're awfully annoying."

"Awe, c'mon," Zabuza cooed, rounding the register as Kakuzu resumed counting. He leaned against the side of the counter, arms folded over his chest and eyes glimmering with amusement at the intent to mock. "A girlfriend would be good for you-"

"It's a guy, and stop. You're as bad as Kisame."

"Or boyfriend!" Zabuza said, ignoring the second comment. Though Zabuza tended to be far more mature than Kisame, you could tell they spent a lot of time together. They'd gone to the same high school and seeing as they'd both joined ROTC, we're practically connected at the hip freshmen year. Until Haku and Itachi came along of course. "C'mon man, would it really kill you to do something besides work?" Zabuza asked, though in a much more serious tone this time.

Kakuzu didn't look at him, didn't stop counting. Just sighed and shook his head,

"He's one of Sasori's little boyfriend's friends. He tags along a lot and I felt bad." Kakuzu said. Zabuza stared at him long and hard, rolling the statement around in his head.

"Liar." He concluded, then moved to switch off the kitchen lights, officially closing the restaurant up for the night.

Thankfully, Zabuza hadn't commented on the conversation any further after that. Kakuzu dropped him off at his townhouse, then made his way back across the lot. The autumn nights were getting dramatically colder, and Kakuzu stuffed his hands in his pockets, eager to get inside. Sasori and Kisame offered up half-hearted waves to him as he entered, both sitting in the common room, noses stuffed in books.

As Kakuzu entered his room and set his things down, he gave a long, hard glance to his cellphone. Sighing, he picked it up, and began typing.

'_Looks like I have Halloween off.'_

Message Sent.

He quickly shed off his work clothes, which reeked of oils from both the fryer and from hours of running around. He grabbed his towel, intent on heading to the shower when his phone sounded. Kakuzu stared at it for a moment.

He still wasn't quite sure how he felt about this whole thing yet. He'd spent nearly the entire evening last Friday hanging out with a high school senior, and though he claimed it was for Sasori (and the free meal), he'd be lying if he said he didn't have a good time. It wasn't that Kakuzu had trouble making friends, it was simply that he only kept a few close-knit ones. And it wasn't that he strayed away from hanging out with new people, it was just that...well that...

Hidan was just strangely different. He was a nice enough guy. A little dense, but bright and had a quirky sense of humor. He was energetic and a lot of fun to be around, and from his relationship with Deidara and his dedication to his religion, Kakuzu could tell he was a dependable kind of guy. He was honest and to the point. Never said anything he didn't mean.

Kakuzu didn't have a problem with him at all it was just... Besides the hours that he'd been asleep, he hadn't gone at least one hour without texting him since last Friday. And after 5 days of this, he still felt that swelling in his stomach whenever his phone sounded. A bundle of nerves that Kakuzu regrettably could only recognize as excitement.

And the idea of seeing him this weekend, of having him in their townhouse over night... Kakuzu was eager to sit down with him, to banter back and fourth like they did last week. He enjoyed Hidan's company. When Hidan had smugly reached for Kakuzu's cellphone last week and took it upon himself to get Kakuzu's number, it had really taken Kakuzu aback. He hadn't been sure how to react because his gut was twisting in a way that was rather unfamiliar for him.

It wasn't that Hidan was the first person to ask for his number, it was just that it was the first time Kakuzu realized he wanted Hidan's number too. And that had him a little on edge. Fact was, Kakuzu simply wasn't interested in getting himself involved in a relationship. He already had enough on his plate, and to add a boyfriend to that would be-

'_Whoa, hold your horses there partner...' _Kakuzu thought to himself. They'd hung out twice and had only been texting. That didn't mean he had any feelings for Hidan or vise-versa. No reason to be jumping the gun, especially if there's nothing to jump to. And anyways, just because Kakuzu's insides were twisting didn't mean Hidan's were. There was no reason to assume that because he wanted Kakuzu's number that he was interested in him. Kakuzu had said he was there to alleviate the awkwardness for Sasori and Deidara. Hidan could be simply recognizing that as an opportunity for a friendship.

Kakuzu sighed, ranking a hand through his hair and flipping open his cellphone.

' … :) … ' _From Hidan. _


	6. Chapter 6

"Seriously Dei, please stop fidgeting." Hidan said, the exasperation evident in his voice. His eyes were beginning to glaze over as he watched his friend with an unamused stare. The blonde had turned all the way around in his seat on the metro, staring intently into his reflection in the darkened windows, continuously adjusting his hat.

They'd backed out of the ninja costumes, as Deidara claimed a mask would hinder his speech (i.e. tongue action). Instead, they'd decided on being cowboys. But not just any cowboys, oh no. Deidara had made them little name patches for their shirts, one reading _Jack_, and then other, _Ennis_.

"You realize this is like, the epitome of gay, right?" Hidan said as he fidgeted with the patch on his left breast. Deidara laughed a little, still adjusting the collar on his red plaid shirt. They'd both sported a pair of worn-out blue jeans and cowboy boots. In addition, they were able to find some cheap plastic spurs to attach to them, as well as some black belts and shiny plastic guns.

Deidara had also found himself a matching set of brown chaps and an open vest. Hidan on the other hand had found a sweet brown button-up vest, with one of those little chains hanging from the pocket. He wore a white-button up under it, and had initially planned on wearing a bandana, but after about an hour with it on decided it was far too annoying.

In all honesty, the night Hidan had first gone out with Deidara to club Level, he'd had been mildly nervous, but not overwhelmingly so. Tonight was a whole different story. Tonight his palms were clammy, his legs were twitching and Deidara's constant moving was starting to grate on his nerves. And to top it off, Kakuzu had stopped texting him about two hours ago.

Not that Hidan expected him to be at his beckon call or anything. It was just that they'd been talking all day and well... Okay fine, he'd admit it, he'd been looking forward to this all week. He was eager to see Kakuzu again, to talk to him in person again. He'd enjoyed their mild flirtation; a flirtation that had carried on through text messages for the past 8 days. And YES Hidan would confess, he was attracted to him. The guy was good looking, he was witty, he was well-educated and even if they couldn't seem to agree on a damn thing, their bantering was thrilling for Hidan. Kakuzu was honest and to the point, and respected Hidan for his opinions. And he was so, freaking,

"Hott."

"What?" Deidara looked up from his texting, eye-balling Hidan as his silver-haired companion stared at him quizzingly.

"Nothing," Hidan blurted. He really needed to stop doing that. He pulled out his cellphone again, but still no messages, and the AU Westside Townhouses were the next stop. Hidan stared blankly down at his pale hands, following the nearly translucent skin up to his forearms, absently wondering if maybe he should consider tanning...

Hearing a gruff cough, Hidan's head snapped up. This would be the first time since he'd gotten on the metro that he actually took a look at his fellow riders. Halloween really was a crazy holiday. People painted themselves in coats and coats of make-up, draped their bodies in weird, unusually clothing and it was totally normal, and totally expected. From traditional Halloween icons like witches, mummies, ghosts and vampires, to popular pop culture references like Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, the Blue Man Group and Harry Potter. His eyes landed on the man in front of him, the source of the cough. A full grown African man, sitting alone on the metro, adorning a full-body mother goose costume.

Happy Halloween!

"Hidan, c'mon!" Deidara said, lightly tugging on Hidan's arm from his standing position as the metro slowly came to a stop. Hidan followed Deidara off the metro, shivering violently when the cool October air hit him. The boys began walking down the townhouse strip, which gradually became more and more populated as they reached the quad. Actually, it was crawling with students, more so than the Monday morning dash to class.

"Here, this is the place," Deidara said after checking Sasori's text message again, just to be sure. He peered up at Hidan, but was a bit disappointed at what he saw. "Are you nervous?" The blonde asked, the incredulous tone in his voice quite evident. Hidan's head turned swift toward his friend, brows furrowed.

"Hell no." Hidan said. Deidara's expression changed from one of concern to skepticism.

"Good, because you have to be the smooth one, un." Deidara informed. Though it was a joke, Deidara's voice seemed more matter-of-factly. They approached the door, which barely muffled the overly loud music emitting from the townhouse. The boys inhaled deeply, and Hidan reached for the doorknob, twisting it antagonizing slowly.

The heat that washed out from the house flooded over them with remarkable force, despite still being outside. They scanned over the sea of bodies, searching for a familiar head. Nerves bundled up in the pits of their stomachs when they found none, and for a moment, the boys exchanged a bewildered glance.

"Hidan-chan! Deidara-chan!" The bellowing voice was followed by a hard slap on the back, and a heavy shove leading them into the townhouse. They peered up at Kisame, who's was grinning broadly, bearing those shiny, sharp teeth. His eyes were glossed over, and his absolutely reeked of beer. Normally, sure, you can smell the alcohol on someone's breath after they've had a bit to drink, but this was ridiculous.

"Dude, you smell like you've been swimming in Coors, seriously." Hidan said. Kisame laughed, loudly.

"I kinda I have been!" He said, and removed the silver funnel from on top of his head, presenting it to the boys. They both took a step back, analyzing Kisame's costume. He'd sported a pair of grey shorts and... well that was pretty much it. On his arms he had silver arm cuffs from what looked like a Viking's costume or something. The rest of his body was covered in shiny silver body paint. Really, really shiny. Painted on his chest was heart with a clock in the middle. And in a slightly darker grey shade was used to create lines and bolts, giving the appearance of metal being bolted together. Definitely Sasori's handiwork. His normally cerulean hair was coated in silver hair tint, and spiked straight up on his head to accommodate the funnel.

"The Tin Man!" Deidara exclaimed. Kisame nodded, still grinning like an idiot.

"Yeah! And Sasori made sure this was usable too!" Kisame said, motioning to the funnel once more as he placed it back on his head. He snatched the two boys roughly, and began pushing them through the crowd of people. "Now c'mon! Let's get you guys some drinks!" he hollered.

"Have you seen Sasori?" Deidara yelled up to him. Kisame nodded.

"Yeah yeah! He's right over there! But drinks first!" Once they'd made it into the kitchen area, Kisame simply reached his long arms over the counter, plucking some beers out of a tub. "If you want some mixed drinks, let Konan know!" He said, motioning to the blue-haired woman pouring some sort of shots for herself and three other girls. "There's also some Jungle Juice in that tub over there!" He continued, pointing to the giant orange barrel beside the fridge. "Just grab a cup and pour yourself some. It's great stuff!" The boys nodded, and continued to follow Kisame through the crowd until finally they spotted a familiar head of red hair.

"Danna!" Deidara piped. The young man turned swiftly on his heel, so much that he nearly stumbled. He blinked a couple of times, searching for the voice he knew all too well. He gave Deidara a one over, then smirked softly.

"Well, well." He said. "Cute." Hidan couldn't help but laugh to himself, as Sasori's drunken stupor wasn't that much different from his normally bored stupor. The only difference in those half lidded eyes were the slight glossiness.

"Not cute, I'm a cowboy!" Deidara said, matter-of-factly, latching onto the brim of his pants and pulling them up with unwarranted force.

"Hnn." Sasori replied. The red head looped an arm possessively around the blonde, pulling him in close to him. Deidara's brows lifted for a moment, but he returned the gesture. Sasori was obviously a bit tipsy. And despite what seemed like an effort to show a bit of dominance, Sasori's need to put some of his weight against the blonde to keep from falling made it look like Deidara was the dominant one. Sasori didn't seem too concerned though.

Behind him, Kisame pushed Hidan forward into the group of people Sasori had been cultivated around.

"So you are?" Deidara asked, glancing over Sasori's costume. Sasori was, evidently, also shirtless, though his baring of skin seemed a bit less relevant than Kisame's. Though for the record, Hidan was surprised Sasori was as built as he was. He didn't quite have the muscles Kisame and Kakuzu did, but it seemed rooming with the them for the past two years had at least forced him to do a little body building.

Sasori had worn a pair of dark beige khaki pants, on which had been sewn a long brown tail. On his head were a pair of matching brown cat ears, and on his hands, fuzzy brown gloves (though the fingers had been cut off to enable him to hold his drinks). In addition, dark black whiskers had been painted on his cheeks. He tipped his head, waiting for Deidara to put two and two together.

"The Cowardly Lion." the blonde said, casting a glance at Kisame. The two men nodded proudly.

"And we're Dorothy and Toto!" the chipper voice came from a young woman with long brown hair, adorning a rather scandalous-looking Dorothy costume. Beside her was a significantly less chipper Itachi. He'd opted for a black, sleeveless under-armor shirt, as well as a pair of black pants. Around his neck was a blue-plaid collar, and on his head a pair of black ears.

"Hidan, Deidara." He greeted, tipping his cup of Jungle Juice toward them, "Happy Halloween." He said. The boys return the nod courteously as Itachi reached out for Kisame.

"You buzzed?" Kisame asked, leaning his head down to Itachi's level. The dark-haired boy shook his head, but when Kisame went to step back a bit, Itachi pulled him forward.

"Just don't make me stand on my own." He said coolly. Kisame nodded, trying hard not to laugh.

"He doesn't drink much," Kisame explained.

"You must try this Jungle Juice," Itachi blurted, "It's - really - good."

"I'll go get some more!" The brunette offered, making her way over the table. She stopped in front of Deidara and Hidan, holding out her hand. "I'm Haku by the way. Zabuza's boyfriend!"

"They haven't met Zabuza yet," Sasori informed.

"Boyfriend?" Hidan repeated, oblivious to the incredulous tone in his voice and the rather rude way he presented it. Haku paid little mind though, shrugging and nodding her - or rather - his head as though he were surprised by the revelation as well.

"And for the record, my costume is way better than female Dorothy over there." He added, signaling to the other Dorothy across the room. He smiled, then endeavored into the crowd. Hidan watched him as he left, mouth slightly ajar. After a moment, he looked back toward Deidara,

"I take back everything I ever said about you looking like a girl." Hidan quickly looked away though when he realized he was interrupting a rather intimate kiss.

"I like your costume by the way!" Itachi hollered. Hidan grinned, and moved to step closer to avoid yelling.

"Thanks!" he said as Itachi leaned in to read Hidan's name patch. He squinted his eyes, then cast a glance over at Deidara.

"Brokeback Mountain?" Itachi asked . Hidan nodded and Kisame grinned broadly when he finally put it together.

"Nice, man," he mused.

"Alrighty gentlemen," Haku said upon re-emerging, skillfully carrying four cups of Jungle Juice. He handed two off to Itachi and Hidan, then tapped Deidara to hand him his.

"Hey, where's Kakuzu anyway? I thought he had tonight off?" Haku asked, scooting in to join their little huddle of people.

"He's still with that red-head I think. She's been following him around all night," Kisame said, straining to peer over his shoulder in search of his roommate.

"They're at the pong table still," The familiar sultry voice of Konan supplied and she skillfully slid between bodies as though she were as thin as paper. "Pein and Zetsu want you and your funnel in the common room by the way." Konan told Kisame.

"Sasoriiiii! You in this time?" Kisame asked, holding out the head of his beer bottle in Sasori's direction, as though to challenge him. Sasori shook his head,

"No," he said plainly. Kisame rolled his eyes.

"Come with anyway!" he ordered. Grabbing Itachi's hand, Kisame began leading the way through the crowd. Konan quickly slipped past them, heading for the group of women she'd been with earlier as Haku linked hands with Itachi and Hidan, motioning Deidara and Sasori to follow.

"It's packed in here!" Deidara yelled, reaching out to latch onto Hidan's belt, Sasori in tow.

"This townhouse is ideal because it's right in the center of the quad." Sasori yelled ahead. "And it helps that Konan and all her roommates are all well-liked."

"And since they're all different majors they attract a pretty wide crowd." Haku added, peeking behind him. To be honest, Hidan didn't particularly care to be hearing any of this. The moment Kakuzu's name came up, he popped up like a daisy, and now, the mention of this red-head had his chest tightening and stomach sinking.

The sudden realization that he may have been perceiving this whole ordeal wrong hit him like a ton of bricks. Perhaps Kakuzu had been serious when he said he only attended the exhibition for the free meal. But then why text him all week? I mean sure, Hidan had been the one to go out of his way to get Kakuzu's number, but Kakuzu had text him first. And had continued to text him all week long, practically non-stop. Hidan had thought he was the type of guy that could differentiate a bromance from a romance. Now, he wasn't so sure.

But Kakuzu had told him he'd dated men before. He'd had one serious boyfriend in high school, but that ended before college, and he hadn't pursued a relationship since. This was getting very confusing, very fast. Maybe Hidan had read those signals wrong. Maybe he was way off base...

And then they came into view. A small, beautiful, young girl with long golden-red hair, smiling broadly up at Kakuzu, looping her arm threw his upon landing a pong ball in the opposing cups. Hidan inhaled sharply, quick to tighten his lip and hold onto what was left of his pride. Kisame hollered loudly upon seeing him, patting his friend hard on the shoulder. Kakuzu turned, glancing past Kisame to Itachi, then Haku, then at Hidan. Where his gaze stopped.

He smiled subtly, tuning out whatever it was Kisame was yelling in his ear. He took a sip of his beer, locking eyes with Hidan. As though it were completely magnetic, Kakuzu left the game table, bee-lining for the platinum-haired boy, who was now frozen in place, so bewildered in his uncertainty to process what was happening.

Just play it cool, Hidan told himself, act totally normal. Like you text every hot college guy you know for hours upon hours on a daily basis...

"Nice costume." Kakuzu said as he approached. He leaned down to Hidan's level, hand reaching out to check out the patch on his chest.

"And you're the Scarecrow!" Deidara piped, obviously quite amused by the work put into this group costume effort. Kakuzu nodded, stepping back to give Hidan and Deidara a chance to see his costume.

"It wasn't my idea." Kakuzu said flatly, giving the impression he was less than cooperative about this whole thing. Unlike his two roommates, Kakuzu had worn a shirt. It was a green plaid button-up, but obviously not something you'd typically find in Kakuzu's wardrobe.

He also had a pair of old, worn blue jeans on, in which numerous holes had been ripped. Straw had been pasted into the openings, as well as along the brim of his collar, and along the insides of his sleeves, which were rolled up to his elbows. His hair was pulled back into a low, painfully messy bun...pony-tail like thing, of which many strands were falling out. Someone had also stuck a little bit of straw into his hair. The stitching on his face and forearms were visible, as well as on his collarbone and chest, compliments of the three open buttons of his shirt.

"It was Kisame's idea, but Sasori did most of the handiwork." Kakuzu said, motioning his hand sloppily toward Sasori. Hidan absently wondered just how much Kakuzu had drank already. "By the way, sorry I didn't message you back." Kakuzu said, body turning back to Hidan as he made the motions of pulling out his cellphone. He held the little device up with distinct distaste. "It died."

...

It was strange. It was as though a great weight had been lifted off of Hidan's chest, and he felt like he could suddenly breath lighter. But, Hidan simply 'ah'ed in a lackadaisical manor, as if he'd hadn't even noticed Kakuzu's lack of communication with him.

"It's cool, we found the place," Hidan mused, ever-so nonchalantly.

"Hey, hey, hey, Flip Cup, happening rrrrright nao." The voice was unfamiliar, but Hidan recognized him from that night at level. A tall man with an abundance of piercings and bright, light red hair; Pein. He had an arm looped around Kisame's shoulder for support, a beer gripped firmly in his palm, while in his free hand he held a stack of party cups. His face was nearly beet red from intoxication, and Kisame's had notably pinked as well. In addition, fresh beer was dripping from the funnel atop Kisame's head.

"Okay, okay but picture first. We're all right here!" Haku interjected, handing off her-damnit-his camera to Pein. Haku snatched his costume buddies up quickly, pulling them all in a group as Pein stared at the little device in his hands. It was obvious the wheels in his brain were turning at maximum capacity, but his drunken stupor was hindering his reaction time.

"The big silver button on the top man, hard to miss." Kisame said mockingly. Pein glanced up at Kisame, proceeding to flip his friend off, before holding up the small point-and -shoot camera. He held it far away from his face, eyes narrowing in concentration.

"Pein, it's-" A quick flash and Pein hissed at the bright light suddenly invading his eyes, "backwards." Haku finished.

"Here, I can take it." Deidara offered, taking the camera from Pein's hands as the man offered it up like he was releasing something putrid from his custody. Deidara held up the camera. "Alright, on three, one two three cheeeeeeeeese." Deidara said as the multiple delayed flashes of the camera went off, and the group of 5 was forced to stand still for an obscenely long time.

Deidara lowered the camera, waiting for the image to appear on the screen. "Awesome face Kisame." Deidara said upon viewing the image. Haku joined Deidara at his side, laughing loudly.

"Okay, okay, I need one of you two." Haku said, motioning Sasori toward Deidara and stepping back to take the picture.

"You're playing, right?" The unexpected husky voice resonating in Hidan's ear made the young man stiffen up. He felt Kakuzu's breath on the back of his neck, and he whirled around quickly. However, Kakuzu had placed a hand firmly on Hidan's opposite shoulder, guiding him in the direction of the now 'flip cup' designated table. Once again, the flow of the crowd was forcing their bodies together, though this time, Kakuzu seemed significantly less concerned about it.

"Playing?" Hidan repeated. Kakuzu looked down at him, and Hidan prayed his ears wasn't as red as they felt. Hidan imagined a bucket of water being dumped on his head and nothing but steam rolling off from the amount of heat he was emitting due to embarrassment. The proximity of their faces was ridiculously uncomfortable, though Kakuzu didn't seem to notice in the slightest. This was most likely because of the gratuitous amounts of alcohol he's consumed, which was evident on his breath.

"Flip Cup." Kakuzu said plainly. "You're playing aren't you? We can be on the same team if you've never played before." Hidan's heart was pounding. They were just standing there in the crowd, not moving, Kakuzu's arm around him, holding their bodies together at the shoulders. Well Hidan's shoulder, Kakuzu's ribcage.

Hidan nodded,

"Tch, yeah sure, bring it." He said, displaying a cocky grin. Kakuzu smirked in a knowing manor, which Hidan didn't like much at all. What the hell was going on here? Seriously? Two weeks ago Kakuzu had blatantly stated that public displays of affection were not his thing. Then Kakuzu goes and texts him all week, then spends the entire evening with some red-head and now he's hanging all over him?

Though, come to find out he hadn't been ignoring him the past two hours. Maybe he just-

"You don't like the Jungle Juice?" Kakuzu asked as he started moving again. Hidan's brows furrowed. He'd had been too distracted by his own jumbled thoughts, and by the fact that Kakuzu's arm was Still around him; attached to him as though claiming some sort of right to him. Hidan stared up at Kakuzu questioningly. "You haven't drank any of it." Kakuzu continued, "I can get you something else if you want." Hidan shook his head.

"No, no I just...I'm a slow drinker." He said, matter-of-factly. Kakuzu nodded in approval of his response. They arrived at the table - finally - and Kakuzu released his hold on Hidan, turning to press his weight against the flimsy wood as Pein slowly set up the cups, which was notably taking awhile as he kept knocking them over. "He's really hammered." Hidan stated, watching as Pein sighed in dismay, allowing Konan to remove him from cup duty.

"He doesn't normally drink like this." Kakuzu said, peeking over his shoulder at said friend.

"Do you?" Hidan asked, finally taking a sip of the jungle juice. His eyes widened in delight, realizing he could barely taste the alcohol as it was masked by the tang of the punch and an over-abundance of sugar. He then caught a glimpse of Itachi, who was leaning against Kisame as the older man badgered Sasori to try the funnel. On his face, Itachi had plastered a small smile in a failed attempt to mask how completely smashed he was.

A small, gruff laugh from Kakuzu awoke Hidan from his thoughts,

"No, not really." He said, looking down into his beer and stirring the contents around in the bottle. "I usually only drink socially." Hidan nodded, finally feeling like he could breathe again now that his senses weren't being clouded by a muscular arm wrapped around his body.

"Halloween just a special occasion then?" Hidan asked. God this Jungle Juice was good...

"Halloween? Special?" Kakuzu repeated. He crinkled his nose and shook his head. "No, No." He said, pushing off of the table and moving in Hidan's direction. Hidan took a step back but realized he'd be backing into a group of people. He was forced to stop as Kakuzu blatantly entered his personal space. "You on the other hand..."

"Me?" It had been so quiet Hidan wasn't sure if it had actually left his lips. What about him? Kakuzu was towering over him, eyes brows slightly higher than before and it seemed that small smirk had glued itself to the older man's lips. Admittedly, the thought of a public display of affection made Hidan's ears burn. He always felt awkward when Deidara was kissing on Sasori in front of him, and the idea of someone watching him do the same made his skin feel hot.

But now, it was like all of a sudden Kakuzu was the only thing Hidan could focus on. He imagined that muscular arm wrapping around him to press a firm hand to the small of his back, drawing Hidan forward as Kakuzu leaned in to press their lips together.

"You on the other hand..." Kakuzu repeated, though much lower this time, and slowly, he took a step closer.

"Alright, I say we put the newbies on the end!" Kisame bellowed, which was followed by a small yelp from Deidara as the blonde was pulled away from his danna. Hidan's eyes, which had been trapped under Kakuzu's gaze, were suddenly released and he watched as Deidara was placed at the end the table. Kakuzu gave a visible sigh, and moved back, allowing Hidan some room as Kisame leaned in to snatch the boy up and place him parallel to Deidara. Sasori had made his way up beside Dei and Kakuzu slowly moved to round Hidan, taking another sip of his beer as he did so.

"So what's gonna happen is there are two teams..." Hidan stiffened again. Kakuzu moved in close behind him, leaning down so he was speaking low and soft into Hidan's ear. "The person on the far end starts drinking as fast as he can. Once he puts down his cup, the person next to him can drink theirs. This goes on until it gets to you." Kakuzu said. Hidan peered up at Kakuzu over his shoulder.

"Then what?" he asked, fuchsia eyes reflecting a hint of nervousness. Kakuzu stood straight, grabbing an empty cup off the table and placing it so half of the cup was on the table and the other half was off the edge.

"Once you drink yours down, you place the cup like this, then." Kakuzu's fingertip rested under the cup, and with a small flick, he flipped the cup over to land perfectly upside-down. "You flip the cup over until it lands."

"That doesn't look too hard." Deidara stated confidently. Hidan nodded in agreement.

"Tch, that's it?" He asked, suddenly feeling far more self-assured in his ability to handle this. Kakuzu's brows lifted in amusement.

"No worries then." he said, and took his spot beside Hidan. Hidan put down his cup of Jungle Juice as a beer was placed beside him. He watched as in near unison, everyone at the table popped open the cans and poured half of the contents into the cups. At the end of the table parallel to one another were Pein and the man Hidan presumed to be Zetsu. Following them were Kisame and Itachi, then Sasori and Kakuzu, and finally, Deidara and Hidan. Haku rounded them, stopping between the 'newbies', and taking his place at the end of the table.

"Alright, everyone ready?" The table occupants nodded and Haku held up his camera as a red light came on. "Okay, on your mark...get set...GO!" After that, it was as though Hidan viewed the following proceedings in slow motion. Pein and Zetsu reached forward, hands grasping tightly around the small red cups. The white brims rose to their lips, and the two men rapidly began chugging down the substance.

Beside them, their teammates cheered them on. Pein's already high level of intoxication was apparently slowing him down though. Zetsu's cup slammed down on the table, and Itachi snatched up his cup. As it reached the Uchiha's lips, Pein finally finished his own drink, and Kisame expertly began chugging his down, easily making up for Pein's lost time. Itachi's cup returned to the surface of the table only seconds after Kisame, and Kakuzu and Sasori quickly picked up theirs.

Hidan watched with excitement and nervousness as Kakuzu tipped his head back, his throat contracting three times. Three chugs, and the cup was back on the table. Hidan inhaled sharply as he looked down at the translucent, light brown substance in a bright red cup. His hand moved unconsciously to swipe it up, and bring it to his lips. He drank fast; as fast as he could, finishing a number of seconds before Deidara. Hidan placed the cup on the side of the table, put his pointer finger under the plastic, and flipped the cup. It bounced on the flimsy wood, and tipped over. Hidan's eyes narrowed and he paused for a moment, still desperately trying to catch his breath.

Deidara was now also attempting to flip his cup. Hidan picked up the little piece of plastic, again attempting to flip it, and again, the small red cup fell over. Hidan placed it upright again, then, Deidara's cup landed. Normally, Hidan would have either been praising Deidara's victory alongside his teammates, who were jumping on the blonde in excitement as Haku photographed the chaos, or claiming it was luck and demanding a rematch.

Hidan was doing neither though. A large had hand made its way into Hidan's view, flipping over the cup Hidan had failed to with ease. Hidan looked over his shoulder up at Kakuzu, who was smirking down at him, leaning his weight on table, face just inches away from Hidan's.

"You pushed too hard," Kakuzu informed. Hidan inhaled sharply and tried to make it non-visible but he was certain he'd been unsuccessful. Their proximity to each other was simply unbearable. Hidan could easily pick up traces of the alcohol and Kakuzu's faint, musky cologne. Kakuzu had locked eyes with him, and held Hidan under his stare. "Try again." he said. Hidan brows furrowed, and Kakuzu looked down at the small red up, turning it over again. "Try again," he repeated, "Once you get a feel for it, it's easy."

* * *

"So no one told me Kakuzu was dating him." Haku said, stepping on tip-toe to peer over Kisame's shoulder at Kakuzu and Hidan on the other side of the table. In unison, everyone's heads shot over in their direction, which resulted in an annoyed hiss from Haku. "Oh c'mon, don't everyone look at once!" He snapped.

"They're not dating." Kisame informed, arm looping around Itachi as the Uchiha began to sway where he stood. "But Kakuzu's sure putting on the moves."

"Hard." Pein added. Konan nodded beside him,

"Actually, I don't think I've ever seen him hit on anyone like this." she added. "Seems really into him." A silence fell over the group, and after a moment, Deidara realized he was receiving some rather expecting glances.

"What?" The blonde piped. Sasori cleared his throat,

"I told them I'd ask you privately but apparently they have to know sooner than later." the red-head said, casting an annoyed stare out at his peers. "We're just curious if Hidan's said anything about Kakuzu. They've been communicating all week and well, this is just not something we usually see Kakuzu do, so we're just a bit curious."

Deidara cast a glance at Hidan and Kakuzu. Hidan wasn't like Deidara. Hidan had never actually been in a legitimate homosexual, or heterosexual, relationship. It certainly wasn't that the young zealot was timid or shy. He simply had trouble connecting with people. Hidan had a lot of acquaintances, and few very close-knit friends. If he did start pursuing a relationship or struck up a mild flirtation, he'd end it as quickly as it started.

While Hidan could probably dismiss Deidara's rantings on a new love interest, if a name was rolling off of Hidan's tongue, Deidara would notice. And he did.

Deidara looked back at the group, smiling softly.

"He's been talking about him all week." Deidara said. Kisame grinned broadly.

"Alriiiight."

* * *

After a few more rounds of flip cup, the group moved back over to the pong table for a few matches, where Hidan learned of his serve lack a depth perception. Itachi and Haku had easily beaten Hidan and Deidara, putting "Dorothy and Toto" against Kisame and Sasori after they had beaten Kakuzu and Pein. Though to be fair Pein wasn't exactly much of a partner, having stopped half way through to shotgun a beer. Despite his claims otherwise, it didn't improve his game.

Hidan and Deidara had been talked into shot gunning as well, which Hidan proved to be slightly better at. Though, that didn't happen until after Kisame - finally - talked Sasori into trying the funnel. It took Kisame, Pein AND Kakuzu doing it ahead of him to finally talk him into it, but he did. And he nearly threw up.

"Dude, breath or your gonna choke. Breath, Breath."

"Stop coaching him!" Haku slapped Kisame's arm, though didn't wait for a reply as he lifted up his camera, snapping a picture as Hidan chugged back the beer from the hole in the side.

"What the hell, Sasori is!" Kisame said defensively. Sasori didn't reply, but simply flipped off his roommate as he encouraged Deidara on.

Another flash from Haku's camera went off as Hidan smashed the can down on the table and brought a hand up to his mouth to cover the burp. Deidara brought his can down a moment later, swearing with dismay.

"Dude, we should totally wash-board." Kisame said after patting Hidan on the back.

"No!" Sasori said sternly, "Somebody will die, and it would probably be me, so no." Kisame tossed his arms up incredulously, rolling his eyes as Sasori continued to shake his head, grabbing onto Deidara to pull him away from the drunken marine biology major.

"The living room table's finally open. I'm thinking Kings." Itachi said, glancing around at the group and presenting a deck of cards. He looked up at Kisame, tipping his head in a way that said 'my way or the highway'. Kisame sighed, nodding in agreement and surrendering his wash-boarding idea.

The group skillfully moved to the living room, claiming the table and seating themselves around it as Itachi pulled out the cards and arranged them in a circle, face-down.

"Oi! Are you playing kings?" The voice belonged to Konan, who's roommates whirled around in suit.

"YEYAH, you playin'?" Konan stared at Pein for a moment, then looked back to the group.

"Wow, he's really smashed." She said, then took her seat beside him as her roommates slid in between people. Hidan had initially sat down beside Deidara, and Kakuzu had sat at the end of the table next to him. But as the girls went to claim their seats, Kakuzu quickly scooted over, closing the gap between himself and Hidan.

Amid the haze of the alcohol and the intoxicating scent of Kakuzu's cologne, Hidan could hardly register anything going on around him. He looked up at Kakuzu, who'd propped his arm up on the table, beer bottle pressed against his cheek as he stared down at Hidan.

"What about me?" Hidan asked, turning his body to face Kakuzu, who's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" he said.

"I have the list on my phone." Haku interjected, showing the group the screen which displayed each card, along with the action that went along with it. Hidan wasn't listening though.

"Earlier. You said ' You on the other hand...' ...What did that mean? What about me?" Hidan stared up at him, blinks impeccably slow due to the alcohol, which Kakuzu couldn't help but laugh to himself over. Kakuzu nodded, confirming that he recollected the conversation. He set his beer bottle on the table, but returned the hand to his face and turned his body a bit more toward Hidan, other arm resting on the sofa behind them.

"You asked if Halloween was special. I said no. But you on the other hand..." After a moment of tossing the statement around in his head, Hidan's mouth fell slightly ajar, and he stared up at Kakuzu, unsure of what to say. Kakuzu thought we was blushing, but he couldn't be sure considering how red his cheeks were from drinking.

Hidan eventually broke their gaze, unable to bare it any longer. He eased his back onto the couch once more, but it wasn't until he felt Kakuzu's hand grip his shoulder that he realized he'd leaned back into Kakuzu's open arm. He felt the heat rising to his cheeks and his heart thud loudly in his chest.

"So, have you ever played this?" Hidan shivered violently, brought on by Kakuzu's warm breath on his neck and low melodic voice resounding through his ear. He shook his head, glancing up at him again as Kakuzu drew Hidan's body in, forcing his shoulder to press against Kakuzu's chest. Kakuzu's hand then fell to drape itself over Hidan's collarbone. "Your heart's beating rather fast, Hidan." he said.

Hidan swallowed hard, glancing down at his shoulder pressed to Kakuzu, then back up to lock eyes.

"So's yours." he said.

"Okay! Pein you draw first!" Haku chimed, and though it wasn't that loud, Hidan and Kakuzu snapped to attention. Hidan blinked repeatedly, attempting to clear his head. He felt Kakuzu shift, but he still held his arm firmly around Hidan. Beside him, Deidara cleared his throat, beckoning Hidan's eyes toward him. Hidan couldn't help but smile at Deidara's knowing grin, but didn't say anything.

"Uuuuuh, 8!" Pein said, flipping the card over on the table.

"8, Drinking Date!" Haku chimed. Pein looked around at the people at the table, eyes landing on Sasori.

"Sa-soriiii! Ginger power!" he said, and the other red-head rolled his eyes, and the two drank.

"Each card has different actions associated with it. So as you draw them, you do these actions." Kakuzu said. "The only ones you really have to beware of are 4 and 7." Hidan and Deidara peered up at Kakuzu.

"Why's that?"

"On 4 'Floor', the last person that points to the floor, drinks." Sasori supplied, "On 7-"

"7, heaven!" Konan cried out, hand flying up into the air. Deidara and Hidan looked around frantically as everyone's hand rose to the air. Deidara, upon realizing what was going on, threw up his hand, leaving Hidan as the last one to catch on.

"Hidaaaan." Kisame taunted, laughing loudly.

"On 7, 'Heaven', the last person to point up, drinks." Sasori finished. Hidan nodded, now understanding, and taking a large sip of his drink.

"You really need to get better at these games." Kakuzu said, "You're getting drunk far too quickly."

"6, Chicks!" Haku said upon drawing his card.

"Drink up, Pein!" Kisame said, staring pointedly at the intoxicated ginger. Evidently, it seemed Pein had been zoning out, but upon hearing his name, his brain checked back into the real world. His head wobbled slowly to look at Kisame, and he nodded, bringing his drink to his lips.

"No, babe-" Konan rolled her eyes, attempting not to giggle as those occupying the table erupted in laughter , and she eased the cup back down to the table.

"9." Itachi said drolly, staring intently at his card.

"Ah rhyme!" Kisame said cheerily besides him. Itachi stared at Kisame in a displeased manor.

"I hate this one." he state, matter-of-factly. The Uchiha sighed. "Okay... phone."

"Cone."

"Tone."

"Moan."

"Loan."

"Stone."

"...daaah crap." Deidara laughed loudly as Hidan shook his head, unable to find a rhyming word fast enough, and taking his drink. Though honestly, he didn't mind. Kakuzu laughed softly beside him, fingers drumming on Hidan's shoulder.

"You're up Kisame." Sasori reminded, breaking up the commotion. Kisame nodded, leaning over the arrangement of cards and choosing his very carefully. He held it up to his face, and his grin widened. He turned the card with a mischievous look in his eyes, revealing a Queen on the other side.

"Never Have I Ever." He said, trying to mask his laugh. Deidara and Hidan looked to Kakuzu expectantly. Kakuzu stared at them blankly for a moment then realized they were waiting for an explanation. He shifted a bit, chewing on his inner lip for a moment as he thought of how to illustrate it.

"Okay, you hold up three fingers, and we go around the table. Each person says "Never Have I ever.." and they say something they've never done before. Anyone at the table who HAS done that, must put a finger down. The first person, or persons, to put down all three fingers must drink." The two boys had sour looks on their faces.

"That's a lot more complicated than rhyming." Deidara said drolly.

"Alright, alright, alright." Kisame said as the table occupants all rose their hands, holding up three fingers each. Kisame stared downward for a moment in thought, then looked around the table.

"Never have I ever smoked weed." He said. A series of sighs went around and a number of people put down their fingers, including two of Konan's roommates, Pein, Zetsu, Haku and Sasori. Deidara's eye brows lifted, and Sasori groaned with annoyance.

"Only once!" the red-head insisted, glaring daggers at his grinning roommate.

"Okay, me." One of Konan's roommates chimed, sitting up straight and looking up toward the ceiling as she thought. "Okay, never have I ever...kissed a girl." She said triumphantly. Kisame, Zetsu, Kakuzu, Sasori, Pein and Konan all lost a finger.

"Alright then," Zetsu said, eye-balling the girl next to him who's eye brows raised in amusement at the challenge. "Never have I ever... **kissed a guy**." He said. The table all sighed. Konan and all her roommates lost a finger, as well as Kakuzu, Deidara, Sasori, Haku, Itachi and Kisame.

"Sa-soriiiiii!" Kisame and Pein boomed loudly, and the red-head took his drink with a roll of the eyes.

Though most of the table had failed to notice, Hidan had put his hand down almost immediately after Sasori had been declared the loser. He'd contemplated lying to avoid embarrassment, but then having to explain that to Kakuzu on a later date didn't seem like a wise decision.

These were all innocent statements too. How embarrassing would it be if they'd gotten into more personal things? Hidan just prayed no one at the table noticed he didn't lose even one finger.

But Kakuzu did notice. He stared down and Hidan, who watched as their company avidly picked on a very annoyed Sasori.

Kakuzu had known Hidan had never had a serious relationship, but... he hadn't realized Hidan had never had any kind of relationship. He'd never even been kissed before. Kakuzu suddenly felt a buddle of nerves and guilt in the pit of his stomach.

After he had gotten a little alcohol in him, Kakuzu determined that he was going to show Hidan he could handle a public relationship. He'd spent the entire evening trying to muster up the courage to just kiss him; to prove that he was prepared to take this thing seriously. Now though... now he was ready to admit that this endeavor of his was more for his own sake that anything else. He'd convinced himself that if he could do this, if he could make a move publicly, then he'd be certain he could venture into a relationship.

The logic was anything but sound, and to top it off, he was failing miserably anyways. Though a few attempts had been interrupted, he'd certainly had ample opportunity throughout the night, all of which he'd backed out of. He sighed heavily in dismay. This whole thing had been stupid anyways. Kakuzu wasn't a normal man, and he'd never be able to pursue a relationship like a normal person. Why he'd attempted to with Hidan was beyond him.

Whatever the reason, Kakuzu was quickly realizing that in the end, it would only result in hardship for the both of them. Clenching his teeth together firmly so that the skin over his jaw dramatically tightened, Kakuzu slowly released his hold on Hidan.

"Oh Shit!" Kakuzu didn't even have time to turn and look at the source of the outburst before he was drenched in the sticky red substance that was a full cup of jungle juice. He'd at least had time to close his eyes upon feeling the cold liquid hit his forehead. It covered the side of his face, his neck, and entire upper torso. He slowly opened his eyes, bringing his hands up to wipe away the red fluid threatening to drip into them. He slowly licked his lips, tasting the sugary goodness covering his face.

Around him, Hidan and one of Konan's roommates were frantically searching for something to get him to clean himself up. Everyone else had erupted in laughter, not bothering at all to try and mask their amusement at Kakuzu's misfortune.

"Here." Hidan said, handing Kakuzu a towel he'd fetched from the kitchen. Kakuzu brought the small cloth to his face, patting it and his neck down.

_So sticky..._

Kakuzu sighed, slowly pushing himself up off the ground and absently waving off the young girl who'd lost her drink as she apologized to him over and over. He twisted his upper body around, eyes glancing over the table as his friends buckled over in drunken laughter.

"Hardy-Har." He said bitterly, "I'm gonna go wash up. I'll be back." he said. He didn't look back, knowing Hidan had been right behind him, and quickly dismissing himself with the intent of going back to his own townhouse. The cold air hit him hard, but he didn't shiver, body sustaining a lot of heat from drinking the whole night.

Would it be cruel of him to just not go back? He could just say he passed out, no one would ever know otherwise. As he reached the door to his townhouse, Kakuzu concluded it was probably better this way anyway. It might hurt Hidan's pride a little, but it was better to end it now rather than later.

He walked into the common room, peeling off his soaked shirt as he made his way to the bathroom down the hall, tossing the garment into his dirty laundry basket along the way. He snatched a towel from the linen closet, and proceeded to wet it down and pat his sticky skin until it no longer felt like an extra coat atop his flesh.

"I don't think Sasori's too happy his work got destroyed." The voice startled Kakuzu and he jumped, turning swiftly to its source. Hidan's brows raised as he leaned against the doorframe, a small grin on his face. He tossed his hat on the counter as he moved forward and Kakuzu visibly tensed. He turned back to the mirror, fighting not to look at the young man's reflection as it approached him. His brain was now swarming with opposing thoughts. He was both upset that Hidan was seeing his scar-covered torso this early in the relationship and reminding himself that he'd decided NOT to pursue that relationship just moments ago.

"That chick was pretty fuckin' drunk." Hidan continued, but Kakuzu cut him short.

"How'd you get in?" Kakuzu asked as Hidan leaned against the counter beside him. Hidan cocked an eyebrow.

"I followed you." he said, as though it were obvious, "None of these doors are locked. And the main door has that rug jammed in it." Kakuzu didn't know what to do now. This was not a good situation to be in, alone in their townhouse like this, Hidan slowly closing the gap between them. Kakuzu quickly moved back, heading over to his room. "So what are you going to do about your costume?" Hidan called after him, moseying much slower over to the bedroom door. Kakuzu was standing at his closet, pushing hangers over the metal bar in a nervous, rushed manor.

"It's already like 2 a.m." he said, "Screw it." He grabbed a black t-shirt and yanked it off the hanger, examining it to be certain it was clean. Kakuzu moved to make his way out of his room, but Hidan's frame was blocking the exit.

"Why not stay like that?" He asked. Kakuzu huffed in dismay.

"Unlike my roommates I'm not as comfortable gallivanting around campus without a shirt on-"

"Who says we have to go anywhere?" Hidan had moved over now, leaning his back against the frame and providing just enough room that Kakuzu could get by, but he didn't move.

Honestly, Hidan was happy that chick had spilled her drink all over him. 1. He's was getting a private viewing of a topless Kakuzu and 2. He felt much more comfortable speaking privately. That was a fact that surprised even Hidan. He's never really been the shy type. He spoke his mind in public, swore in the presence of adults, removed his shirt on a regular basis and - along with Deidara - was known to cause loud and otherwise obnoxious commotions over simple things. But for some reason, with Kakuzu, things were different.

Hidan tipped his head to the side, staring at Kakuzu expectantly. The taller man had frozen up, the small piece of fabric limp in his hands. Hidan turned his body, fully facing Kakuzu. He broke their gaze, reaching out to fiddle with the shirt. "Well?" He inquired again. He could feel Kakuzu's breath against his forehead as he moved closer.

"Well, what?" Kakuzu asked, though it was quiet, and monotone, as though he wasn't entirely focused.

Hidan looked up, but his gaze fell from Kakuzu's eyes to his lips. Kakuzu knew Hidan wanted to kiss him.

Then, without thinking it over, without running through the scenario in his head, Kakuzu dropped the t-shirt, his hand lacing around to press firmly against Hidan's back, the other reaching up to cup his face as he leaned down, lips pressing gently together. Hidan responded instantly, arms looping around the older man's torso, palms pushed hard against the stitches on his back. His body leaned in to Kakuzu's, and he let Hidan push him back into the room.

The hand that had been on Hidan's back reached out to slam the door closed, but rather than backing up to the bed, Kakuzu leaned Hidan against the back of the door. He tipped his head to the side, now gripping Hidan's hip and he pressed him against the flimsy wood. Hidan's arms looped around Kakuzu's shoulders and as Kakuzu leaned in to press their bodies firmly together, Hidan inhaled sharply at the fluttering feeling in his stomach.

The sound of their lips breaking and re-connecting clouded Kakuzu's mind. All he could think about was how badly he wanted Hidan to stay, and how badly he wanted these last few moments to last. Hidan's arms drew back and his hands rested against Kakuzu's face, thumbs grazing the stitching on his cheeks. Their lips broke apart and Hidan's eyes looked up into Kakuzu's, his breath heavy and hard.

They stayed like that for a moment, Kakuzu being entirely uncertain as to what to do next and trying desperately to convince himself that he should stop. Kakuzu's life was just so unstable. It wouldn't be fair to drag Hidan into his chaos. But as Hidan leaned forward, this time planting his lips firmly against Kakuzu's, all those thoughts were dismissed. He felt Hidan's hands push against his chest and he backed up, leading over to the bed in just a few steps.

He sat down, intending to pull Hidan down next to him, but the boy fell against his chest, knees hitting hard against the bed as he came down to straddle Kakuzu. Kakuzu moaned involuntarily at the sudden contact, hands instinctively reaching to grip the young man's hips and pull him closer. Kakuzu inhaled sharply. God this kid smelled amazing, and his lips fit perfectly into Kakuzu's. Kakuzu's arm looped tightly around Hidan's hips as the other hand reached up to lace through that soft silver hair. He felt Hidan's hands move from his shoulders to tangle themselves into the hair that'd fallen in his face. Then he felt Hidan shift his weight, pelvis sliding against Kakuzu's lap.

Kakuzu's eyes popped open for a moment, and he flipped Hidan to the side, dropping him on his back against the bed. Hidan's eyes opened wide and he stared up at Kakuzu as his large, shirtless, form loomed over him, the light from the window highlighting the right half of his body while the left fell into darkness.

Hidan's face was flushed, his lips red and bruised and he was breath heavily. He laid there, one arm resting free on the bed while the other hand fell to Kakuzu's collarbone when he'd been turned. His legs were bent at the knees, feet flat on the bed. Kakuzu had worked one leg between Hidan's, and he was keeping an arm's length distance from him, chest rising and falling heavily as he looked down at the platinum-haired boy.

After a moment, Hidan's brows furrowed. Kakuzu hadn't said anything, and hadn't moved. It was like he was waiting for something. So, Hidan's hand slowly slipped around the back of Kakuzu's neck and he lifted his upper torso, both arms looping around Kakuzu's shoulder, locking lips. Kakuzu wrapped his arms against Hidan's back, slowly moving them down to the bed, bodies sliding together.

Kakuzu hand reached up, pushing over the collar of Hidan's shirt as his lips lapped over the tender flesh of his neck. Hidan visibly shuttered, fingers tightening against Kakuzu's shoulders. He buried his face into the crook of Kakuzu's neck, heart pounding hard in his chest as he felt Kakuzu's fingers reach to unbutton the vest of his costume. Upon doing so, Kakuzu sat up, bringing Hidan with him, lips never leaving the young man's neck as he peeled off the small brown material.

He didn't stop there though, he quickly unbuttoned the white shirt Hidan had on underneath, hands sliding into the shirt to touch Hidan's ribcage before pressing him back down against the bed. Hidan swallowed hard, fingers tracing over the curves of the muscles in Kakuzu's back and sides.

Then, Kakuzu lowered his hips against Hidan's. Hidan inhaled softly at the sudden sensation, hips involuntarily rising to meet Kakuzu's. Without realizing it, Hidan had grinded his body against Kakuzu's, who responded very positively, hand reached down to grip Hidan's thigh, assisting him the electrifying motion.

"Oh fuck," Hidan blurted in a hushed tone as Kakuzu once again broke their kiss to ravage Hidan's neck. This evidently spurred Kakuzu on more and his tongue lapped over Hidan's pale skin, lips hooking firmly onto the flesh as he sucked lightly. Hidan turned his head to the side to give him better access. He couldn't explain the tingles running through his body at that moment or the hot sensation coursing through him. He just knew he wanted more of what Kakuzu was doing to him. So, he hooked one leg over Kakuzu's hip, pointedly pressing the bulge in his jeans against Kakuzu's.

"Oh sweet Jashin." Hidan murmured in a breathy tone, hand gripping onto Kakuzu's shoulder. He panted heavily, turning his face into Kakuzu's hair, lips against his ear. "Ah, Ka-Kakuzu." he whispered.

For a moment, Kakuzu tensed up, and froze. But for only a moment. He then abandoned Hidan's neck and with brand new vigor, pressed his lips hungrily to Hidan's. He eagerly began exploring the depths of Hidan's mouth whilst his hand reached to grip the leg Hidan had wrapped around him, grinding into him in a very heated, blatantly sexual motion.

Kakuzu's other hand clasped around the back of Hidan's neck and he kissed him with the ferocity of a starving man. Hidan was simply too much for him to handle. The soft, tenderness of his skin against the hard stitching of his own. The curves and bends of his muscles and joints under Kakuzu's hands. The fine, perfect chiseling of his jaw and the intoxicating voice that left those pretty lips.

He couldn't help himself. And in a way, he supposed he'd known that from the beginning. Since giving him that car ride home. Sure, he'd found other people attractive, but he noticed things about Hidan that he didn't bother to notice about other people. The way his lips curved, how his shoulder shifted and his hair fell. The way his eye brows shifted when he talked and the snarky grin when he made a joke.

And Hidan was no fake. He was a man's man. Painfully honest, funny and open to the world. Even if they practically lived in two different worlds, there wasn't a thing about Hidan that Kakuzu didn't like.

Hidan hadn't been sure if he'd gasped or not, but the sudden alert in his brain sent his mind into a small panic. For a moment, Hidan's brain just stopped, uncertain of how to react when Kakuzu's hand slipped into his jeans, those large fingers clasping firmly around that now pulsing bulge.

It felt amazing having Kakuzu touch him. Absolutely fucking amazing.

And at the same time Hidan suddenly felt a swell of nerves explode in the pit of his stomach, and hands rose to push against Kakuzu's shoulders, forcing the larger man away from him and forcing his hand to slip out of the confines of Hidan's pants.

"Wait." Hidan breathed forcefully, eyes wide and body tense. Kakuzu backed off immediately, swallowing hard and moving off the bed a little to ensure Hidan he was providing him with the needed space.

"Sorry." Kakuzu blurted out, still desperately trying to catch his breath. He'd let one leg slip to the ground while bending his other knee into his bed, hands held up defensively. "I'm sorry," he continued. "I shouldn't of-"

Hidan shook his head though, shifting to sit on his knees beside Kakuzu,

"No, no I just..." he interrupted, hands clasping around Kakuzu's. He paused, avoiding eye-contact and he visibly reddening. "Fuck man, I'm sorry, I just haven't done this before, and it's all a little new, ya know?" Kakuzu was still breathing very heavily but he let his hands relax and they slowly fell to rest on Hidan's shoulders.

"I'm sorry," Kakuzu repeated again, "I shouldn't have gone so fast, I-"

The contact of Hidan's lips to Kakuzu's was soft and minuet, but it silenced Kakuzu immediately. The contact was barely there, but they both felt it, and after moment, Hidan pressed his forehead to Kakuzu's and they both relaxed.

"So, it's cool if we go a little slower?" Hidan asked reluctantly. He didn't want to open his eyes, fully aware of his own naiveté's to the situation. But he felt Kakuzu nodded, and he smiled.

"As slow as you wanna go." he said. Of course, he had to have said it in that deep, alluring tone of his.

Once again, Hidan laced his arms around Kakuzu's shoulders, and Kakuzu moved to sit on the bed again, adjusting Hidan to a straddled position over his legs. Their lips locked and for a few moments, they just stayed like that.

But the sound of the front door clicking, followed by numerous voices made both their eyes pop open.

"Hey-Hey! Kakuzu, Hidan, you here?" Kisame's voice bellowed over the chatter. Kakuzu and Hidan both jumped up, and Kakuzu hurried to the door, locking it just as Kisame's hand made contact. "Dude, Kakuzu?" He slurred in a drunken manor, drumming loudly on the door.

Just then, Hidan's cellphone sounded from his pants pocket, and everyone fell into a silence. Hidan's mouth fell ajar and Kakuzu turned to look at him, unsure of what to do. Outside the door there were a few muffled giggles. Kakuzu brought his palm to his forehead, and Hidan quickly snatched his cell phone, wanting to scream at Deidara right then and there.

'_Hey Hey Hey - what's goin' on in there?'_ From Deidara.

_'Ur a dick_.' Hidan text back. A second later, Deidara's phone sounded from the other side of the door, and a series of _'Oooohs_' emitted from the group. Kakuzu had turned to press his back against the door, one arm wrapped around his torso, the other bent at the elbow as his hand covered his mouth and he shook his head.

"Kakuzuuuuuu, why won't you let us in?" Kisame taunted from behind the thin door. With a deep sigh, Kakuzu turned back to the door, and flipped the lock. He opened the door just enough so he could slip past, and glare nose-to-nose at Kisame, whose body was shaking with laughter.

"Enough." Kakuzu said sternly. Kisame pursed his lips firmly together, turning his head to the side and clamping his eyes shut, on the brink of bursting out in laughter.

"Kisame, leave 'em alone." Itachi mused, attempting to tug at Kisame's arm. The man turned back to Kakuzu though, head tipped down and eyes staring up at him, brows high on his forehead.

"Hey man," He said, breath so heavy with alcohol Kakuzu had to turn his face, "We're just messin...we're just..." Kisame's grin began to fall and his brows furrowed as though he were confused. Kakuzu cocked an eyebrow, then his eyes widened in realization.

"He's gonna puke." Kakuzu said, abruptly grabbing Kisame and spinning him around toward Itachi. The young Uchiha snatched his boyfriend's hand, leading him to the bathroom. A moment after the door closed, the roaring sound of a gag filled the townhouse.

"Oh, gross." Deidara said, nose crinkling in disgust as he made a bee-line for Sasori's room. The red-head on the other hand was still lingering at Kakuzu's door. The significantly taller man stared down at him with an unamused stare. Sasori smirked ever-so subtly under his drunken haze, then opened his mouth to speak.

"Piss off." Kakuzu interrupted, then slammed the door, leaving a still grinning Sasori on the other side. Kakuzu sighed at the door, then slowly turned around, surprised to find Hidan was right behind him. The boy was rocking back and forth on his heels, eyes glancing around thoughtfully.

"Sooo, where am I sleeping?" he asked. Kakuzu's eye brow raised again, and he folded his arms over his chest, then his eyes glanced over to his bed expectantly. Hidan gave him an incredulous look.

"But what will people say?" He argued, taking a step closer so that his chest pressed against Kakuzu's folded arms. "I mean such a public display that'd be." He teased, "Ya know, People today wear their sexual desires on their sleeves. They fight in the streets, make out in the streets, and they don't care who's watching. How is that-"

Kakuzu sighed with annoyance, grabbing onto Hidan's sides and backing him up to the bed. He pushed him down into a seated position, then bent to his level, pressing their lips firmly together.

"I think I can live with that."


	7. Chapter 7

Hidan moaned in displeasure as the familiar sound of his cellphone alarm pierced through the serenity of his slumber. His hand rose from the bed sheets, desperately searching the surrounding area in hopes of silencing the annoying device. Once his hand reached the familiar object, it retreated back into the bed, the cellphone along with it.

Once silenced, he tossed the mobile back onto the floor, and rolled over, intent on returning to his dream state. His arms circled around the warm body next to him, and he sigh contentedly. Really, there was nothing better than sleeping in on a Sunday-

- wait a tick...

Hidan's eyes popped open and memories from the previous night rapidly began to fill his sleep-fogged brain. He tilted his head up wearily, affirming he hadn't been dreaming. Seemed Kakuzu was a heavy sleeper. That or the alcohol had really knocked him out. Hidan propped himself up on his elbow beside Kakuzu, staring down at the man's sleeping face. His hair was a tousled mess and he'd gone to bed without a shirt on.

The cuteness was unbearable.

They'd crawled into bed after being interrupted the night before, Kakuzu saying it was rather late anyway, and he had to work the next day.

At first Hidan had been a little disappointed, having been looking forward to a little more tongue action. But when Kakuzu had encircled those massive, warm arms around him, Hidan found that dozing off surrounded by Kakuzu's scent was, well... pretty f-ing amazing. Plus, the guy put off so much body temperature you'd think he was a human heater.

Hidan yawned, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth. He rubbed his eyes of their grogginess and began to search the room for a clock or something.

_'Cellphone, dumby._' Hidan's brain said. Hidan nodded, apologizing to his brain for having forgotten, and reached down to pluck the little device up from the floor. He flipped the phone open and the screen illuminated before him.

"Shit," He blurted, springing up to his feet and frantically looking around for his shoes. Evidently, the commotion had woken Kakuzu. He cringed as his eyes opened, the brightness being a bit unexpected. He'd forgotten to draw the blinds before going to bed.

He sat up, watching as an unaware Hidan stood in his bedroom, standing on one foot as he tried to force a shoe on the other.

"You're in a hurry." The deep voice suddenly cutting through the air alarmed Hidan, and his head snapped up in surprise. His foot landed hard on the floor, having finally gotten into the shoe and he wiggled back and forth, forcing the heel inside.

"It's 10:30. Worship starts at 11." Hidan informed, snatching his other shoe and proceeding to mimic what he'd done with the first. Kakuzu's eye brows lifted but he nodded, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and reaching to grab his cellphone from his nightstand.

"You won't make it to the metro in time. I'll drive you." he said. Hidan suddenly slowed down, then nodded in agreement.

"Cool, thanks." He said with a grin. Kakuzu stared up at him for a moment as a smirk was forcing itself over his lips. Wrinkled jeans, cowboy boots, unbuttoned shirt. His skin was still glowing from just waking up, and his hair was sticking out in a few places.

How endearing...

Kakuzu sighed to himself. He couldn't remember a time in his life he'd been this hormonal. He shut his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply, then pushed down on the bed and forced himself on his feet. He walked across the room, grabbing the t-shirt he'd abandoned the night before and slipping it on.

"You plan on going to ah … _worship_, in that?" He asked as he pulled his running jacket off its hanger, slipping it over his torso. Hidan looked down at himself. He laughed softly, and began buttoning up his shirt and searching for his vest.

"We actually have a Halloween Sunday, so it's no big deal. " Kakuzu cocked an eye brow.

"Isn't Halloween like, the devil's holiday?" he asked. Hidan laughed.

"In Christianity. Like a lot of religions, they see it as the one night of the year demons can rise from hell and walk amongst the living." Hidan said as he pulled his vest over his shoulders. Kakuzu mused, shrugging in a nonchalant manor. "Jashinists recognize it as just another attempt by the commercial industry to sap money from society at large." Kakuzu's brows lifted, and he smirked a little as Hidan approached him, still buttoning up his vest. The man's large hands clasped over Hidan's sides, drawing him near.

"Now that I understand." He said in a low voice. Hidan grinned smugly as his hands were pinned against Kakuzu's chest.

"Ah, you like it when I talk money, eh?" He said, fingers hooking on the collar of Kakuzu's shirt, beckoning him down for a kiss. He purred against Kakuzu's mouth as taller man leaned forward, force a small smile to creep past his lips.

"Mmm." He mused, so low it could have been a whisper, and rather than going for Hidan's lips, he diverted left, tongue landing softly against Hidan's neck . "Talk numbers to me." he said. Though it was quiet and said in a bit of a monotone, Hidan laughed heartily.

Kakuzu drew back, allowing Hidan to get his top button, and he turned to his closet, plucking his red AU hoodie from its hanger,

"Here," he said, holding out the thick garment to Hidan. "You'll freeze otherwise." Outwardly, Hidan offered up a smug smile, taking the offered apparel from Kakuzu's clutch, and pulling it over his head. He stuffed his hands in the pocket, along with his phone and keys, and nonchalantly headed for the door.

Inwardly, Hidan was grinning like an idiot, inhaling sharply to take in the distinct scent that was Kakuzu and revealing in the perspective chance to take home what could very soon be his boyfriend's hoodie.

Holy shit, right?

As Kakuzu closed his bedroom door behind him, Hidan realized he'd better text Deidara.

_'Kakuzu's driving me to worship_.' He typed. He heard Deidara's phone sound from the other side of Sasori's door. A moment later, he received a reply.

'_Tellin' mom I'm going with u. Sasori will take me home in a little while._' Hidan rolled his eyes and shook his head. It wasn't that lying for Deidara made Hidan upset, it was more-so that if they didn't lie so much, Deidara would probably have off-ed himself by now. Deidara's brother Daisuke had evidently been no different, and often guided his younger brother in the proper ways of misleading their parents.

Hidan was grateful his mother wasn't like Deidara's.

"Good to go?" Kakuzu asked. Hidan nodded and together they headed out to Kakuzu's truck. Admittedly, Hidan was overwhelming happy. Everything had gone so smoothly last night. Three weeks ago, if you'd have told Hidan he'd be putting the moves on a college guy, he'd have laughed at you.

Now, he was wearily glancing over at Kakuzu as they walked, desperately trying to muster the courage to take his hand. Alas, they arrived at the truck far too quickly for Hidan's liking. As they hopped in and got buckled up, Hidan began taking a few glances at Kakuzu, who was turning his body fully around to see as he backed out.

His hair was a mess again, like it'd been the first night they'd met. It fell to frame around that sharply chiseled jaw of his. Hidan knew he couldn't ask, but he did wonder about those scars. They looked so deep, it seemed as though someone must have slit straight through the corners of his mouth and opened up his whole cheek. Hidan wondered how a person even lived through that...

Kakuzu turned back around, and the popped collar of the track jacket rose to shield the scar from Hidan's view. God he looked good in that jacket.

Their ride was... well kinda quiet. A fact that worried Hidan. He'd asked a couple questions and brought up a few memories from the previous night, but Kakuzu only offered short responses. What the hell was up with that?

Last night, Hidan had been pretty dang certain that Kakuzu was into him...that he wanted to see him again and, well, maybe see where this thing went. Now, he was being all withdrawn and...

"Fucking stupid..." Hidan muttered to himself.

"Hmm?" Kakuzu inquired, having not heard the young zealot. Hidan sunk a bit in his seat, face puffing a bit in his frustration. He glanced over at Kakuzu, who cocked an eyebrow at Hidan's notably angered face.

"What up with you today? I may as well be talking to a rock." Hidan blurted. Kakuzu nearly smiled at the boy's forwardness. Kakuzu nodded, eyes returning to the road.

"Just tired," he said, "and thinking about work." Hidan thought about it for a moment, then nodded, as though accepting the answer.

"So where is it you work-"

"Alright, we're coming up on Juuban here. Which way am I going?" Abandoning his question, Hidan leaned forward, taking in his surroundings.

"Just turn left up here. It's a mile or so down the road."

Okay fine, so Kakuzu wasn't up for talking. Whatever, that's fine. Hidan got that. But still... Hidan peered over at Kakuzu, who's sharp green eyes were focused on the road. Hidan had the right to know if he was going to call him later, didn't he?

"Right here!" Hidan said, pointing to a building across the street. With the exception of the extravagant archway entrance, the rest of the building looked like more of an office complex than a place of worship. Kakuzu slowly pulled over, following a string of cars doing the same. The windows were large and wide, reflecting the vivid blue sky brilliantly, and the walls were some sorta off-white stone. Kakuzu imagined that for the non-religious, such as himself, this place was certainly less intimidating than the cathedrals and temples down the road.

"So, uh..." Hidan's voice brought Kakuzu out of his thoughts and he turned to look at the young man who was staring at him rather intently. Kakuzu offered up a questioning look, which prompted a scoff from Hidan. The man young turned his head away quickly, a few loose strands of hair moving along a second later.

"Tch." Hidan sneered, eyes shut firmly. "So, you _are _gonna fucking call me, right?" He said. Kakuzu stared at him for a moment, then smiled subtly, which was prompted by both Hidan's forward attitude and the light blush grazing his cheeks.

"Hn." Kakuzu gave a short, soft laugh under his breath, "Yeah," he said, "I'll call you tonight when I get off work." Hidan's eyes popped open and his head whirled around to Kakuzu. Then, he grinned broadly. His hand reached for the door and he made the large hop out of the truck.

"Cool. Talk to you later then-."

"Hidan!" a young man was hustling his way up the walkway, toward the truck. His shaggy brown hair fell into his eyes, nearly shielding them entirely. He stopped in front of Hidan, hands on his knees as he caught his breath. "Hey man," he said, "That dick Shouga isn't coming today. Says he's sick." the boy said with a roll of the eyes. Hidan also sighed. "Any chance you can read scripture with me today?" he asked. Hidan nodded curtly.

"Yeah, just put everything on the podium for me." The boy nodded, standing to his full length now, and he peeked into the truck.

"Who's your friend-"

"Well I'll get going!" Hidan said, moving to shut the door and turn his face away from his friend as his cheeks began to redden. "Talk to you later, Kakuzu!" Hidan said with wave. Kakuzu waved back as Hidan shut the door, watching as he turned his friend around and headed into the building. The boy peered over his shoulder as he spoke, obviously inquiring about Kakuzu again. When Hidan hit his side, the boy only grinned smugly, and the two hurried down the walk.

Kakuzu laughed to himself, still wearing that subtle smile as he pulled out onto the street. That smile faded about a half mile down the road though. Truth was, Kakuzu wasn't tired at all. In fact he slept great last night. In reality, he'd been contemplating the best way to tell Hidan he didn't think this whole relationship, or whatever it was, was a good idea. For the record, Kakuzu didn't normally behave like this. He either did something, or he didn't. No flip-flopping back and fourth. But Hidan had him all disoriented. Just what was it about this kid that had Kakuzu second-guessing himself?

On how many occasions now had Kakuzu said enough was enough, then turn around and … and agree to call him later.

Fact was, Kakuzu was too busy for a boyfriend. He worked too much, and had too heavy of a workload, and that was something he couldn't change.

Fact was, Kakuzu's personal life was just too much of a burden to put on someone else. He couldn't expect Hidan to understand.

Fact was, Kakuzu just wasn't ready for this. He knew couldn't push people away forever, otherwise 30 years down the road he'd be alone and regretting it. Kakuzu had taken a chance once and that turned out to be one big mess in the end. Now just wasn't the time...

...still, Hidan looked awfully cute in his hoodie.

* * *

When Hidan had walked through the door to his home, he'd been greeted with an open palm smacking hard down on his forehead. After which his mother proceeded to demand he either un-tag himself from any photos he'd been tagged in on facebook containing alcohol, or that this _Haku_ make the album private.

"Colleges look at facebook pages you know!" that was the final statement of her rant before she headed back into the living room, mumbling obscenities under her breath. Hidan sighed, brows winkled pitifully and eyes whirling as he was still recovering from the lecture. He slowly made his way up to his bedroom, kicking off those boots the first second he could. Then he plopped down at his desk, afraid to see what sort of photos had his mother in an uproar. Thankfully, Deidara's parents hadn't figured out facebook yet.

26 notifications. 1. Haku Yuki tagged you in 47 photos. 3 hours ago. 2. Haku Yuki tagged you in 2 videos. 3 hours ago.

The rest were photos comments, and friend requests.

Hidan took a breath, clicking on the album.

"Oh dear Jashin..." Why did the first one have to be him and Deidara shot-gunning? Hidan rested his elbows on the desk, his left hand reaching up to cup his forehead as he clicked. Admittedly, Haku certainly captured some of the best moments of the night. And the group shots were pretty freaking hilarious. Hidan stopped about halfway in though, on a photo of him, Kakuzu and Kisame. Haku had asked them to turn and smile, and Kisame had flung in at the last second.

Kakuzu's arm was draped loosely over Hidan's shoulders as Hidan was making some kinda funny face at the camera. Kisame had tossed his body into Kakuzu's side, one leg still extended and mouth open as he was screaming loudly. Kakuzu had turned to look at Kisame, his face contoured in a sorta of surprised, '_wtf?_' expression.

Hidan laughed to himself. Haku had slugged it "You're such a douche Kisame." Kisame had, of course, responded in the comments. The majority of the photo comment had statements like "niiiiice guys" and "omg, wtf?" sorta stuff, and a few reminiscing on the events of the night.

Hidan then clicked on the videos, the first being of the flip-cup race. Oye...

And the second. Well the second started with an image the townhouse window. The background was so noisy, you couldn't hear much, but you could faintly see the reflections of Haku, Deidara and Kisame in the window. That, however, wasn't the focal point. Kakuzu entered the screen, making his way to his townhouse outside, and a second later, Hidan followed behind. Then the video cut off.

Hidan clasped his hands over his face, throwing his body back in his chair. Well that didn't look good...

Hidan then went to his friend requests. Kisame, Itachi, Haku, random person, random person, and Kakuzu. Hidan couldn't stop the smirk from spreading across his lips. Kakuzu had changed his profile picture to the one of him, Hidan and Kisame. The only really good one of Kakuzu and Hidan together. Hidan wondered if it would be cheesy to change his to the same one. Yeah, probably...

He'd worry about that later though. Hidan leaned in, hunching over his desk. It was time for some facebook stalking...

* * *

Unfortunately, Hidan didn't learn too dang much. Kakuzu was tagged a lot, and commented on other people's things on occasion, but rarely updated himself, and had little to no personal info. He listed his school, and that he was a male. Aaaaand that was it.

He had no TV shows listed and no movies. About 9 books, then listed only 2 musical artists: Ray Charles and Ingrid Michaelson.

What the hell?

Hidan scoffed. He couldn't throw him a bone here? C'mon! …. Ah! He listed his birthday! August 15th. Hidan would have to note that...

Finding himself in a bit of a facebook daze, Hidan jumped when his cellphone sounded.

'_Hey hey, So Haku wants to go out to dinner and pop in on his boyfriend, who apparently works with Kakuzu (I don't remember being told that). They wanted to know if we wanted to tag along?_' From Deidara. Hidan cocked an eyebrow. So Kakuzu worked at a restaurant.

Hidan glanced up at the time, then replied.

'_Sure. I'll be ready in like 30 minutes_.'

* * *

When Sasori's Chevy pulled in the drive, Hidan thundered down the stairs, hair still a bit wet and pulling Kakuzu's hoodie over his head.

"Mom, I'm going to dinner with Deidara." He called as he passed the living room. Shiro whirled around, her face twisting in confusion. She flung up from the sofa, following her son into the foyer.

"You mean '_Can_ I go to dinner with Deidara' I'm presuming?" Inwardly, Hidan shuttered. Her hands were on her hips and her head was tipped to the side. Her sleek silver eye brows were high on her forehead to accommodate how wide she'd opened her eyes. Unhappy mom alert.

Hidan nodded dumbly.

"Yeah." he said, "_Can _I go to dinner with Deidara?" he asked, smiling brilliantly. Shiro's eyes narrow hastily, and she tapped her foot. Hidan gulped. Yikes. Shiro then peered out the window, pursing her lips together after seeing Deidara seated next to a man she recognized as a drunken redheaded cat. She sighed audibly.

"I swear to god-"

"Jashin."

"Hidan!"

"Sorry."

"I swear, if you are even a millisecond past 10, I will kill you." Shiro then stepped in close to her son, looming over him dangerously. "Kill you." She repeated. Hidan, having been frozen in place, slowly smiled, and nodded wearily.

"Thanks mom." he said, gave her a quick peck on the nose, and darted out the door. Deidara was already out of the car, pushing the seat over so Hidan could crawl into the back of the 2-door vehicle.

"Good to see you again Hidan!" Haku chimed as the new company settled in. Hidan stared at him for a moment, taking in the boy's appearance. Men's clothing; jeans and a long sleeve tee. Still, it would be easy to mistake him for the opposite gender, albeit flat-chested. But still.

"Man you look like a chick." Hidan blurted.

"Hidan!" Deidara hissed from the front seat. Haku was taken aback at first, but smiled graciously as they zoomed off.

Honestly, Hidan had considered not coming. Kakuzu did say he'd call, after all, and would seeing him so soon after last night seem clingy? But he had been invited! What would he have said had Sasori told Kakuzu they'd invited Hidan and he'd declined? Either way, Hidan wasn't sure what to do. So here he was, nervously tapping his feet on the floor, absently wringing his fingers together within the hoodie pocket.

Then, Sasori flipped on his turn-signal, and slowly eased into the parking lot of a small ma and pa's diner. The place was cute really. Kinda old fashioned, but not that made-to-look old fashion. Like for real, old fashioned, much of the paint fading away, giving the whole place a very rustic look. As they all piled out of the car, Hidan suddenly regretted coming along. This was too soon wasn't it? Oh man this was gonna be awkward. _'Why Hidan? Why did you say yes?_' Hidan asked himself.

Haku was merrily making his way inside, pleased to see they only had a few costumers at the moment. A young man with short, spiky black hair looked up, smiling upon seeing Haku.

"Shouldn't you be studying?" He asked as he leaned on the bar counter. Haku seated himself parallel to the young man.

"I can leave if you want." he said. The man grinned in a rather cheeky way, then leaned in to get a kiss.

"Zabuza! Order up!" A voice hollered from the kitchen, and 3 plates we placed on the silver counter with a bunch of tickets hanging over it. Zabuza sighed, easing back over the bar, leaving a pouting Haku kiss-less. Zabuza shrugged, and piled the plates on a large serving tray, and proceeded to take them to one of the tables.

"So that's Zabuza?" Hidan asked, seating himself next to Haku. Deidara moved into the seat on the other side of him, Sasori following in tow. Haku's head turned away from his boyfriend, and he smiled brilliantly.

"Yeah." he said. "He and Kakuzu have been working here together for like, 2 years I think." Haku said, matter-of-factly. Hidan nodded. Like Kisame and Kakuzu, Zabuza was a big guy, tall and full of muscles. Really, Hidan thought these two were sorta funny. Haku didn't come across as an overly-feminine gay man. He actually same across as a sweet, subtle female. So yeah, once your realized he was a guy, it was like '_oh yeah, he's gay_.' Zabuza, on the contrary, was this big, burly guy. A manly man. Much like Kakuzu and Kisame, you certainly wouldn't get that gay vibe from them.

"So," Zabuza said upon returning, "You guys want anything?"

"Menu's would be a good start." Sasori said flatly. Zabuza shot him a look, but Haku paid no mind.

"I know I want the grilled cheese." He said with a smile. Zabuza grinned at that as he produced some menus from behind the counter for the rest of the company.

"And who're your friends here?" he asked as he handed menus to Hidan and Deidara.

"Ah, this here is Deidara, Sasori's boyfriend." Haku said pleasantly as he signaled to the blonde down the way. Deidara nodded in acknowledgment, holding a hand out to shake. "And this is Hidan." Haku said, smiling at the platinum blonde beside him. Zabuza stopped what he was doing, his brows lifting.

"Hidan?" He repeated, eyes moving between Haku and Hidan questioningly. He gave a sort of nod to Haku, who gave a sort of nod back. Then Zabuza thumbed behind him, as if to signal to someone, then nodded again. And once again, Haku returned the nod.

"Stop doing that." Hidan said sourly, glaring at the two. Haku shrugged with a smile, while Zabuza cleared his throat, looking down as he pulled out his notepad, scribbling down Haku's order.

"Kakuzu! Order up!" A voice hollered from the kitchen, and once again 3 plates we placed on the silver counter with a bunch of tickets hanging over it. Then, Kakuzu made his way out from around the kitchen door, absently flipping through his notepad.

Like his co-worker, Kakuzu had on a black button-up shirt, sleeves pushed up and buttons loosening at the top, as running around certainly made it hot in the little diner. He also wore a pair of dress pants, and around his waist was a white hip-apron that extended just to the top of his thigh. The pockets were just enough for straws, condiments and his notepad. But unlike Zabuza, who put his pen in the spiraling that held his notebook together, Kakuzu had his pushed through his hair, which was once again tied back in a low, messy bun. Hidan was awestruck. Could this guy get any cuter?

He stopped at the silver counter, placing the plates carefully on the serving tray that he held skillfully on his shoulder, completely unaware of Hidan's presence, and made his way over to his table. Hidan couldn't help but watch, if only to admire that fine ass in those dress pants. Beside him, Deidara was snickering about something, Sasori and himself laughing together quietly. Hidan shot them a hard glare, but regained his composer as Kakuzu made his way back up to the counter, still distracted by his notepad.

"Evening Kakuzu!" Haku chimed. Kakuzu glanced up to acknowledge Haku,

"Hey." he said, then moved to set his tray down. Kakuzu then did a quick double-take, and in the process, nearly knocked down all the trays. He moved to snatch them back up before they fell, a panicked expression befalling his face as Haku and the others laughed softly. With the trays still in his arms, Kakuzu looked up again, eyes locking with Hidan.

Hidan could feel the heat rising to his cheeks, and he smiled nervously,

"They invited me!" He suddenly blurted, thumbing to his company. He knew that his outburst had been a bit awkward, but he wanted Kakuzu to know he wasn't being obsessive. But Kakuzu was staring at him with this blank expression, brows just barely dipping downward. Then, though it was very subtle, a soft pink haze grazed his cheeks.

"Oh?" He asked, placing the trays back upright. "And just who's idea what that?" He made his way over to the counter beside Zabuza, though on the other side, not in front of Hidan.

"Mine." Sasori said plainly as he flipped through the menu. "Haku mentioned coming down and I thought, why not bring Hidan along?" the redhead folded up the menu, placing it flat on the counter before resting his arms over it and staring up at Kakuzu with those unwavering blank eyes.

The moment was brief, when Kakuzu's and Sasori's eyes locked, the air was so thick with tension you couldn't have cut through it with a knife. Finally, Kakuzu tore his eyes away, scoffing.

"Bastard." he cursed softly, "Just what would make you think I want him here?"

...

Hidan wasn't sure if he'd gasped or not, but that certainly wasn't the response he was expecting. His whole body instantly tensed up, and his face began to heat red with embarrassment. But more than all that, his chest tightened like he'd been holding his breath so long it hurt.

Then without even glancing at Hidan, Kakuzu made his way back to the kitchen door. "I'm taking my break!" He called out, evidently for the person in back to hear, and then slammed his notepad down on the counter before hurrying out the door.

Hidan was at this point painfully confused, and everyone staring intently at him definitely wasn't helping matters. What was he suppose to say?

"That was kind of a dick move, Sasori." Zabuza said suddenly. All eyes averted to him, but he paid it no mind, sending a sharp glare to the young art major. "You know well enough he's not fond of working here." Sasori shrugged nonchalantly though.

"I'd disagree." he said. "Being embarrassed of it doesn't make it any less a fact, and frankly, shouldn't you be insulted, Zabuza, that he thinks so low of a workplace you both share?" Sasori said with a smug smile.

"Danna." Deidara said in a hushed tone. The blonde didn't know what exactly prompted this whole spat but he didn't like where it was going. Sasori glanced down at him quickly, holding up a finger as though to tell him to wait a moment. Zabuza frowned deeply.

"No." he said. "I'm not, considering the circumstances."

"Circumstances my ass-" Sasori snapped, hand curling into a fist as he leaned forward against the counter.

"-The hell is your problem man?" Zabuza shot back, moving toward the redhead with the same challenging tone. And as they began to bicker as quietly as humanly possible, Hidan began to sink in his chair.

What the hell was this all about? What had Kakuzu so upset that he'd storm off like that?

…_Just what would make you think I want him here?..._

That's what Kakuzu had said, about him! There was no denying that his heart was sinking low in his chest. Hidan had done exactly what he didn't want to do, he'd jumped the gun too quickly. He should've just waited for Kakuzu to call. Oh Jashin this was embarrassing...

"I agree with Sasori-kun." It hadn't been loud, but Haku's drolly spoken statement had both snapped Hidan out of his thoughts and defused the argument between Sasori and Zabuza.

"What?" Zabuza asked in an incredulous tone, peering at the slender young man over his shoulder. Haku sighed, pushing some of that long brown hair behind his ear.

"I don't think Sasori should've been so forward, but really," Haku said with a sad smile, "This is Kakuzu we're talking about here. He's not just going to come out of his shell. He needs a little..." Haku mused, hands moving to motion as he spoke, "A little push."

"And last night wasn't a push?" Zabuza inquired, flabbergasted that his boyfriend would side with...well anyone but him.

"It was," Haku said in an agreeing tone, nodding at Zabuza to affirm his statement. "But c'mon. Hidan would probably start thinking he was whoring himself out at night before Kakuzu finally told him-"

"Okay." Hidan interrupted, holding his hands up as though that would silence everyone. He was shaking his head, brows knitted downward like he was getting a headache. And he was. "Will someone please explain to me what's going on here." Hidan's said as his arms fell on the counter, hands still opened wide and eyes scanning around his company. Hidan paused to release a scoff, eyes averting down to the table as thought the answer was about to magically appear between his open palms. "What's he embarrassed of? And what do you mean _needs a push_?"

The three AU students exchanged glances, and Zabuza opened his mouth to speak.

"Nhn." Sasori held out to hand, a disgusted look on his face, indicating Zabuza was not the best person to explain. "This place belonged to Kakuzu's late uncle." Sasori said. He placed his arm flat on the counter, twisting his body to Hidan's direction. "When his uncle died, his aunt took over. Unfortunately, they were both ...uh-"

"Drunks." Sasori sighed.

"Yes, Thank. You. Zabuza." Sasori said sarcastically. "Drunks, and while his uncle was able to maintain the business, as far as finances go, his aunt just doesn't fit the bill."

"Nice pun." Haku piped.

"Thanks. So Kakuzu's been working here to essentially keep the place going and keep the books in order. Seeing his aunt has a liver disease and all, he really just can't leave her hangin' dry-"

"Zabuza! Order up!" Zabuza sighed, and picked up a serving tray.

"He just takes things like that really seriously." Zabuza said, "Doesn't like people judging him."

Hidan's hands slowly began to fist as he mulled over this new information. That must've been part of the reason Kakuzu was as uptight as he was. It was strange to think that a guy like him would have so many reservations.

"And his parents let him do this?" Deidara asked, glancing between Sasori and Haku.

"His parents died when he was a kid, right Sasori?" Haku said sadly, leaning over the counter to look at the redhead. Sasori nodded.

"So he lived with his aunt and uncle then? The drunks?"

"No, no." Sasori shook his head. "It was no secret they spent a lot of time on the bottle, so he was sent to live in a boys home down in the projects in Konoha." Deidara's '_ooh_'ed in understanding. "The guy certainly has a lot on his plate." Sasori said, then cleared his throat. "Which is why, Hidan, I think you ought to be sure about this whole thing before you go an get into a relationship with him." he said, fingers drumming on the counter, then he turned and locked eyes with the young Jashinist. "Ya know?"

Hidan stared at him blankly, unsure of what to say, or even what to think really. Deidara turned to Hidan as well, looking up at him with wide, concerned eyes.

"I agree, un." The blonde said, "You outta be sure about this. The guy comes with a lot of baggage-"

Hidan suddenly shot up from his seat, taking a step away from the counter. "Hidan?" Deidara questioned, the concern thick in his voice. Hidan was staring down at the floor intently, brows arched thoughtfully. Then, he snapped to attention.

"I gotta talk to Kakuzu." he said, and bolted off in the direction Kakuzu had gone.

"Wha? Hidan!" Deidara called out, jumping out of his chair. But Hidan had already dashed off.

"I get why you did it Sasori." Haku suddenly said, still in that calm voice, "but next time maybe be less of a dick about it?" He then smiled over at the redhead, and Sasori nodded.

"What did you mean, Kakuzu needed a push?" Deidara asked pointedly. Sasori looked up at him and was surprised to see the blonde's eyes narrowed at him purposefully. "Really, what's up with this guy? Should I be worried for Hidan-"

"Honestly, Kakuzu has just never had the chance to be a normal person." Sasori said matter-of-factly, turning to stare in the direction Kakuzu and Hidan has went. "He just doesn't know how at this point, and really, he's probably afraid to try." the redhead said. Deidara's hard stare softened, and he too looked up at the now vacant door, and sighed.

It was obvious to Deidara that Hidan really liked this guy. In the past, the second things got even remotely difficult or complicated, Hidan would bail. So how was it Hidan had managed to fall head first for a guy that was probably the most complicated person he'd ever come across?

When Deidara had realized Hidan had a little thing for Kakuzu, he had been so overwhelmingly happy that Hidan was showing an interest in someone that he at no point stopped and considered just what kind of guy this Kakuzu was. And it helped that it seemed so perfect. Kakuzu and Sasori were friends, Deidara and Hidan were joined at the hip. They could all hang out together and everything would be peachy-keen. Deidara had just assumed that because he was Sasori's roommate and one of his closest friends, that meant he had to be a good guy.

"Stop that." Sasori said suddenly, awakening Deidara from his thoughts. The redhead had turned back to his menu, though was fiddling with the casing rather than reading it. "You should know, I wouldn't let Hidan date him if I thought he'd only end up hurting him." The young art major said sternly. Deidara stared at him for a long moment, then slowly smiled.

"Honestly," Haku said thoughtfully, hand propped up against his chin as he stared out into the kitchen. "I'm more worried about Kakuzu."

* * *

Hidan didn't know what to think. This was all just a lot of information at once. And he really couldn't decide what he was more upset over: The foul way Kakuzu had spoke about him or the fact that he thought he was so shallow he'd dump him for his family situation. Hidan began to slow down. In any case, in order to dump him they'd have to be dating anyway, and that certainly wasn't their current status.

Pushing his hair behind his ear, Hidan apprehensively made his way through the back hallway, annoyed that none of these doors were labeled. Where the hell had that jackass gone to? Then, Hidan came across a door opened just a hair, with the word "Office" written in Sharpe on the door. The young platinum haired boy took a deep breath, then quietly pushing the door open.

And there Kakuzu sat, looking far too large for the desk he was at. His elbows were resting on the flimsy wood top and his hands were folded in front of him, pressed firmly to his forehead, as his head was bent downward.

"Ya know." Hidan's voice startled Kakuzu, and the large man quickly spun around. Hidan had leaned himself against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. Kakuzu's mind flashed back to the night before, when Hidan had leaned against the bathroom door frame, arms crossed in the same fashion as he grinned cheekily at him. But that grin was now replaced with a sour frown. "I really don't know what you bitch at you for first." Hidan snapped, "Thinking I'm such a shitty person that I'd care you have family drunks..."

He didn't wince, but Kakuzu's eyes shifted, and Hidan suddenly regretted saying that. "...or that you're just not man enough to be straight forward with me and tell me you're not interested-"

"Don't tell me how to act like a man" Kakuzu replied, bolting up from his seat, but only took a few steps forward, "Excuse me for not wanting to get into personal family matters a day in to this thing! And you spent the night in my bed for Christ sake," He hollered, throwing his hands in the air, "just what would make you think I'm not interested?"

"Jashin. And I'm sorry, you're right, it makes total sense to look at your boyfriend like he's trash then say in front of everyone you don't want him around. Of course that-"

'…_Just what would make you think I want him here?...'_

Kakuzu hadn't meant for it to come out that way, he really hadn't. He was just so pissed at Sasori. He may have been having doubts about this relationship, but he realized now that despite that, he also wanted it badly enough to not want Hidan to know his unfavorable secrets.

"-and so forth, but that's cool, whatever, I don't really give a fuck anyways-wha!-"

Without saying a thing, Kakuzu had rounded Hidan, and forcefully backed him up against the desk. "The fuck is your problem?" Hidan hollered, but he couldn't keep from gasping when Kakuzu slammed his hands firmly against the desktop at Hidan's sides. He forced Hidan to put his weight back on the desk as Kakuzu's body inching painfully close to his own. "Kakuzu?" Hidan questioned. It wasn't that Hidan thought he'd hurt him, but he didn't like the idea of this guy just pushing him around like this. One more inch and Hidan would push back. One more inch and-

"I didn't mean that." his voice was hushed, and he'd bent his head down again, unwilling to look into Hidan's eyes. "This whole thing has been a roller coaster for me." he admitted. "I like you." he said, then laughed to himself, "I don't know why but I really like you and that's what's made this so difficult." Finally, he looked up, staring into Hidan's fuchsia eyes. Hidan couldn't help but frown deeper. Kakuzu's were hard, blank. He was hiding something. "But I have to be fair to you, and getting into a relationship with me is just asking for hardship-"

"At any point, did you ever considering consulting me about this?" Hidan asked, eyebrows high on his forehead. He tipped his head to the side, reminiscent of a parent's form a reprimanding. "You're tellin' me that you're just trying to be fair, but how is it fair that you're not even giving me a chance?" Kakuzu scoffed.

"I'm doing you a favor!" He said defensively.

"A favor?" Hidan repeated, his tone almost amused, but in more of an incredulous, pissed off kind of way that was asking Kakuzu how he had the audacity to say such a thing. "**You** deciding all on your own that **I** can't handle this relationship, then being a total dick and treating me like crap...that's doing me a favor?" Kakuzu huffed angrily, growing visibly frustrated. He stood to his full length, tossing his hands in the air again.

"You don't get it, you-"

"You're right, I don't get it because you're not even giving me the chance." Hidan stared up at him defiantly, his lips pursed tightly together to keep himself from pouting. Kakuzu sighed, exasperated.

"Why do you even like me?"

"Good question." Hidan said, maneuvering to stand, though Kakuzu made no move to back up, continuing to tower over him as thought to intimidate him. Hidan nearly rolled his eyes, "I mean you're so uptight, really. PDA's scare the crap out of you, you refuse to tell me a damn thing about you, then act like a jackass to keep me from trying to get closer." His hand been waving around the whole time, counting the things Hidan was listing.

He then stared up at Kakuzu skeptically. "And yet I'm still here. So at what point are you going to realize your act isn't fucking working on me, and just give me a chance?"

Outwardly, Hidan was standing triumphantly before him, arms crossed and head tipped, awaiting a reply. Hidan seemed like he knew exactly what he was talking about. He had no doubts. Inwardly, Hidan was just praying he wasn't making a total fool of himself. Kakuzu could very well just be trying to let him down easy, and Hidan was totally missing the signals. But if he wasn't...if all this was just because Kakuzu was a little...damaged. Well in that case, Hidan didn't want to let this slip through his fingers.

Kakuzu wasn't saying anything. Why in Jashin's name wouldn't he say anything? Hidan was trying hard to keep his face from puffing red with anger, but he was failing miserably, and his confidence was dwindling. Well, if he was going to get burned, then it was going to happen on his terms, Jashin-damnit. "If you're not fucking interested in me," Hidan scoffed, turning his face away. "Then you ought to grow some balls and act like a man. Just out with it-"

Kakuzu gripped firmly onto Hidan's chin, turning the young man to face him.

"I won't say it again, don't tell me how to act like a man." Kakuzu said sternly. Hidan could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. Why did Kakuzu have to talk that way? So low and melodic, his face only inches away from Hidan's. It sent a shiver up the young Jashinist's spine. "A man deals with his problems, and doesn't drag other people into them." Kakuzu sighed heavily. Then he released Hidan's face, and took a step back. "Can you be patient with me?" he asked, "can you handle that?"

For a moment, Hidan just stared at him, eyes swimming with wonder and confusion. Then, he blinked and smirked in a cocky manor. The young man leaned casually back against the desk, folding his arms smugly over his chest.

"You mean can I handle **you**?" he said, then waived his hand in the air carelessly. "Pft, fuck yeah I can. You're such a big talker ya know, you think you're so badass, goin' on _about all your problems, of course I can handle you, you don't even know the half of..."_

Unless prompted by an abundance of alcohol, smiling wasn't something Kakuzu did on a regular basis. But as Hidan yammered off, his words fading into the back of Kakuzu's mind, the young, over-worked and underestimated business major couldn't seem to help himself. He wasn't sure just what it was about Hidan he liked so much. He just knew that for the first time in weeks, all his doubts were gone.

"..you know, and in any case-"

"You're wearing my hoodie." Kakuzu stepped forward, thumb and pointer finger clasping the pull tab of the zipper. Hidan's chatter halted, and he watched the motion curiously.

"Yeah," He said, hand reaching up to clasp the open Y of the opening, "Thought you might want it back."

"Keep it." Hidan no sooner registered the words when Kakuzu cupped his face, turning his head upward as his lips came crashing down against Hidan's. And as much as he sincerely didn't want to, Hidan could feel his body's need to melt against Kakuzu's, relying on him entirely for support. As Hidan's arms reached up to link around Kakuzu's shoulders, Kakuzu's other arm encircled Hidan, pressing him back against the desk.

Shivers were running ramped over Hidan's body, ensued by the feverish way Kakuzu was kissing him. The older man's lips disconnected with his, then hastily reclaimed them, searching the depths of his mouth is such a needy manor. Hidan's hands began to tangled themselves in Kakuzu's hair, and he pushed his body up on tip-toe, desperate to hold him tighter. Finally, they broke apart and Kakuzu leaned his head away just slightly, panting heavily. He grazed his thumb over Hidan's cheek, admiring with amusement the light blush that grazed it, unaware of his own flushed face.

"You're not going to get in trouble for this are you?" Hidan inquired. Kakuzu huffed, shaking his head.

"You kidding?" He said, then in one movement, scooped Hidan up off his feet, planting his butt down on the desk. "It's my office." He said. Hidan's brow arched, and a smirk adorned his lips.

"Well, well." he said, hands falling down to grip Kakuzu's collar, then he arched his neck upward, his lips just barely touching Kakuzu's "Now that's hot." he breathed, and pulled his boyfriend down for a kiss.


	8. Chapter 8

The problem was: Kakuzu was lying to him, and Hidan knew it.

But, that didn't make addressing it any easier, because fact was: A) Kakuzu's family matters were none of Hidan's business and B) Hidan shouldn't have been snooping around Kakuzu's desk in the first place.

But he had. Granted, not with the intent to find anything in particular. Just out of pure boredom and nosiness he began absently opening drawers, thumbing through class syllabuses, note cards, and eventually he just happened upon it.

A letter, handwritten, signed "From, Dad."

At first, Hidan had believed perhaps it was an old letter, something from Kakuzu's childhood. But there was a date at the top, reading from just a few days prior. He'd forced himself not to read it, though by Jashin he wanted to. There were probably answers in there. Answers as to why Kakuzu would lie about his father. And maybe answers to why Kakuzu was as secretive as he was.

But for what was more than likely one of the first times in his short life, Hidan displayed the willpower not to give into temptation. He wanted answers, but he wanted Kakuzu to know he respected him enough not to invade on his privacy.

Still, there was no graceful way to bring it up. No perfect time between playing xbox in the common room and making out in Kakuzu's dorm room bed. He'd found the letter nearly a week ago, and he was still sitting on the discovery, unsure as to what to do with this information. He thought maybe he should ask Kisame or Sasori about it first, but that didn't seem right either though. Hidan didn't think they didn't knew any more than he did, and the last thing he wanted to do was open a can of worms.

"Hidan?" Kakuzu's darkened green eyes narrowed at him for what had to be the thousandth time this week, attempting in vain to decipher what had Hidan's mind traveling to far off places.

"Sorry." he blurted, inhaling deeply as he shifted on Kakuzu's bed, pushing his school books aside to stretch his legs. "What were you saying?" Hidan ran a hand through his hair, mustering a yawn before turning to Kakuzu.

The other boy wasn't buying it though. He stared at Hidan with those analyzing eyes, head tipped ever so slightly. He hasn't pressed it. Hidan had been distant and spacing out all week, and he knew it, but Kakuzu hadn't pressed. Hidan wasn't sure why not. In a way he was thankful. He still wasn't sure how to address the topic. And at the same time, he wanted a reason to blurt it out. Get it out in the open.

Kakuzu wouldn't show it, but Hidan believed he was beginning to worry over his behavior. In a way it was kinda sweet.

"Any plans for Thanksgiving break?" Kakuzu restated his earlier question. Hidan cringed, sinking down into the wall behind him.

"Just family crap." He said, fingers picking at the binding on his notebook. "We usually go down to my mom's sister's house for Thanksgiving, then come Christmas we make the 3 hour trunk to Grandmas." Kakuzu huffed beside him.

"Do Jashinists celebrate Christmas?" He asked, eyebrows raised. Hidan gave a smirk,

"No." he said, "But hey, I'm not about to turn down free shit." he said cunningly. Kakuzu's lips twitched upward. He turned toward Hidan, a hand raised to tip his chin. Dark green eyes lidded, and lips brushed by his.

Hidan exhaled heavily at the sensation.

"What about you?" he asked a breathy tone.

"What about me?" Kakuzu asked, though it seemed his mind was far from the question as he turned his body to face Hidan, hand clasping around the back of his neck, drawing him forward. Hidan had intended to elaborate, but now the thought was barely coherent in his brain. He reached up to grasp onto Kakuzu's shirt, and the larger boy drew him closer, pressing their sides together.

_This_, Hidan liked. In public, even amongst friends, Kakuzu's affection toward him was chaste at best. Quick kisses, if any. Fingers linked, but Kakuzu would draw away if Hidan looped an arm around his back. Hidan didn't get too angry. It was a little irritating, but Kakuzu seemed to be making an effort. And besides, times like this, alone in his dorm room, certainly made up for it.

Kakuzu moaned into Hidan's lips, and Hidan abruptly felt his cock twitch in his pants the moment the sound filled his mouth. Books and papers scattered to the floor as Hidan shifted his weight, lifting himself to straddle Kakuzu's waist. The contact left him shivering. He could feel Kakuzu beneath him. His hardness firm against his butt, and Kakuzu drew Hidan forward, pointedly pressing his pelvis into his abdomen.

He couldn't help but whimper at the contact, running his hands along Kakuzu's broad shoulders. His brain tried desperately to stop and appreciate the muscle beneath his fingers, but the electricity burning in his loins kept him from focusing. He felt Kakuzu's frame slide down the wall, and hands that had been strictly above waist fell to his thighs.

Hidan knew what he was about to do. He'd done it last time Hidan had been over. Since Halloween, they'd tried to take a few steps back. Hidan had admittedly freaked out a little after having another man's hand on him for the first time. Not that he didn't enjoy it. Jashin, did he enjoy it! But that didn't make him any less green. Hidan didn't know what the hell he was doing when in came to sexual interaction and let's face it, _Project Know_didn't do a damn thing to educate anyone of homosexual orientation.

But Hidan was all kinds of willing to learn. Kakuzu's large palms rested on the back of his thighs, and in a swift motion, drew Hidan's hips forward, brushing their pelvises together. The friction was intoxicating; the feel of his cock rubbing against Kakuzu's, even if there was a good four layers of clothing in between. Hidan moaned into Kakuzu's lips, trying to no avail to keep himself from smiling.

And without thinking, Hidan rutted his hips forward, eager to repeat the action. He felt Kakuzu freeze up almost immediately, and Hidan suddenly felt heat rushing to his cheeks. Last time, Kakuzu had been in charge of the tempo, moving Hidan's form accordingly against his own. Hidan had let him lead.

Kakuzu shuffled up slightly, pulling away to scan his eyes over Hidan's flushed features. His tone was hushed and his voice breathy as he said,

"God, that was hot." Hidan blinked for a moment, his utter embarrassment now forgotten. He smirked.

"Jashin." he corrected, then before Kakuzu could reply, rutting forward once more. What was more than likely a protest came out as a moan. Kakuzu's teeth came down to bit on his lip, and his hips moved with Hidan's, jarring forward.

Hidan had hoped to tease him a bit more, but his brain was getting foggy. Kakuzu was becoming increasing disheveled before him, his features twisting every time Hidan's hips thrust forward. And Hidan couldn't keep his mind off the fact that his rock hard cock was rubbing feverishly against Kakuzu's.

An aching moan left Hidan's lips when he felt Kakuzu's hands cupped his ass. Hidan watched as Kakuzu bit down on his lip again, his fingers tightened around the plump mound and driving Hidan's hips forward. Kakuzu shuffled upright, and drew Hidan's body into his. Their kisses were sloppy as Hidan drove himself into Kakuzu's lap. They broke apart only for a second, and Hidan watched as Kakuzu reached into his pants, adjusting his dick upright.

Hidan could practically feel his mouth water. Seeing the tip of Kakuzu's cock, his hand in his own pants, his fingers touching himself. Hidan suddenly wanted to be touching it too. With his own hand. And he wanted Kakuzu's hand on him. He wanted to rub their cocks together. Bare. No fabric keeping them apart. He wanted to feel Kakuzu against him.

Kakuzu drew Hidan forward, and they gripped hard onto one another, grinding together in a instinctive, borderline feral way. Hidan wanted this so badly. He wanted to tell Kakuzu. To tell him to touch him. To tell him to take him. He wanted to be fucked into this mattress until he came his brains out.

Hidan's fingers gripped roughly into Kakuzu's hair as he came, his body convulsing violently as Kakuzu continued to rock his hips back and forth, following Hidan only moments later.

They stayed like that for a minute, gripping onto one another, fighting to catch their breath as they recovered. Hidan's legs felt like jelly beneath him. He didn't want to move, afraid they wouldn't be able to support his weight. Kakuzu must have known. He pulled Hidan onto the bed beside him, laying parallel to one another. Hidan watched as Kakuzu breathed heavily, body trying to regain a steady pattern.

Kakuzu opened his eyes, and Hidan couldn't help but smile at the gloss of post-orgasm that greeted him. Kakuzu either didn't notice, or was trying to be nonchalant. Hidan shuffled a bit, attempting to move forward for another kiss, but cringed immediately.

"D'aww fuck." He blurted, reaching down to peal his wet boxers away from his body. Kakuzu laughed softly.

"I'll get you a pair of mine." he said, pushing himself up off the bed. He moved carefully as he made his way over to his dresser, drawing out of pair of boxers and tossing them at Hidan's. The younger boy winced as he sat up.

"I'll be right back." he said, snatching the small article of clothing and darting out into the hall to make his way to the bathroom. When masturbating, Hidan was usually pretty good about being prepared, as to avoid any sticky messes. But he had woken up to a many a wet dreams in his time, and it never got any less sticky. This was way worse. Hidan imagine it was because of all the movement.

When he finally felt clean enough to reemerge, he hadn't expected to be greeted by two smirking faces. He recoiled the moment he looked up, eyes darting between Deidara and Kisame with slight panic.

"The fuck do you want?" he snapped. His tone didn't deter them though. Deidara burst into a fit of chuckles, and Kisame's brows rose amusingly, eyes imploring him as if Hidan didn't know exactly why there were lurking there.

"I knew you were mouthy." the large man said, his arms folding around his torso as though to stifle his laughs, "But I didn't realize you'd be so vocal." Deidara burst into a laughter, cheeks turning red,

"_I want you to take me._" Deidara said in a high pitch tone that Hidan would later point out sounded absolutely nothing like him, "_I want you to fuck me into the mattress, fuck me until I come my brains out! _"

Hidan held his breath the whole way from the bathroom back to Kakuzu's room, ignoring the cursing from Deidara after shoving him out of the way. He pointedly slammed the door behind him, and for a moment, forgot that Kakuzu would be on the other side. The large man was just tossing his boxers into the dirty laundry, and failing miserably at hiding the devilish smirk on his lips.

Hidan huffed angrily.

"Fuck you man, I didn't-" He glared at Kakuzu, wanting nothing more than to slug the smirk off his mug, "I didn't realize I-" He tossed his arms up in front of him, shaking his head, "I really said that out loud?" The question was meant for Kakuzu, but Hidan already knew the answer, so he spun on his heel instead, as though inquiring the room for a second opinion.

Kakuzu made an amused noise in his throat, looming over Hidan's personal space.

"You said a lot more than that." His voice was so velvety and sultry Hidan thought he deserved to be punched just for the audacity of it. But instead, Hidan made his way over to the bed, pretending for a moment he had any interest in picking up his discarded homework. Really he needed a moment to let his pride recover. Kakuzu was apparently willing to give that to him, and he absently began picking up books from the ground.

"So, you mad?" Hidan tried not to be hesitant in asking. He wanted to know, as Kakuzu seemed to have a problem with public affection, having his roommates know he's in his room shacking up with his boyfriend might be along the same lines. Kakuzu glanced at him, eyebrows high on his forehead as he thought about the question. He gave a shrug.

"No." he said simply. Hidan nodded, watching as his boyfriend separated their schoolwork into piles, eyes focused on the task at hand.

He decided now was a good time to ask about the letter. Well, not necessarily good, but perhaps not worse than most. Because logically, he just got off, therefore he had to have a little bit of a euphoric high going on.

"Hey uh, so I wanted to ask you about something." Hidan didn't mean to pick at his nails. He realized after he started doing it that it probably came across as nervous. He tried to hide his hands between his knees before Kakuzu saw it, but the older boy did. He gave a solemn nod.

"Yeah?" he said. Hidan couldn't keep from cringing. There was no delicate way of asking, and though Kakuzu's temper often amused him, now was not a time he wanted to be messing around. So instead he pushing himself off the bed, and shuffled his way over to Kakuzu's desk.  
"I was uh, just fiddling around your desk the other day." He said as his fingers slid across the wood, hesitating before going to the drawer he knew contained the letter. Kakuzu didn't' respond. He sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Hidan to continue.

Hidan gave a heavy sigh that blew past his lips, and he wearily opened the drawer, and pulled out the piece of paper.

"I uh, I came across this." he said.

A part of him didn't want to look up. He knew immediately that Kakuzu's whole body had stiffened. He could feel it, and suddenly there was tension in the room. He didn't want to look up.

"Did you read it?" Kakuzu's voice was low. Trained. Hidan peered up under dark lashes, and finding Kakuzu's features schooled to blank slate.

"No." he answered honestly. "I realized what it was, then put it away." Kakuzu didn't look him in the eye. He just stared at the letter in his hands, refusing to lessen the gap that was now between them.

It made Hidan sick, and he was suddenly missing the blissful ignorance he'd been living in for nearly 3 weeks since the night in the restaurant. This stupid, flimsy piece of paper had caused a rift between them all week long, and now it was like it was keep Kakuzu from moving any closer.

"That why you've been so out of it this week?" his voice was still so low. Hidan could only nod. Kakuzu nodded in return. Then, with a heavy breath, he rose from his seated position and made his way over to Hidan, plucking the little piece of paper from his hands. He licked his lips, eyes narrowing. Hidan swore he could see the words moving behind Kakuzu's eyes as his brain mulled over them.

"What do you wanna know?" he asked. He turned as he said it, making his way back over to the bed. He sat down, folding his hand and leaning his weight into his knees. He looked up at Hidan expectantly.

Hidan realized this was an opening. Kakuzu was putting himself out on the table. Opening up, and giving Hidan an opportunity. It thrilled him and set a shiver a nerves through his system at the same time.

"Umm, well." Hidan cleared his throat, carefully making his way over to the bed, leaving a reasonable distance between them. And once again, he couldn't help but pick at his nails. "So, your dad is... alive then?" he cursed himself. He wanted to sound tentative. Tread careful. But delicate was something he was never good at, and he could hear the snarkiness in his own voice. Kakuzu made an uncomfortable sound, then nodded,

"Yeah." He said, looking down at the paper in his hands, "I don't really talk to him though. He's the reason my mom was killed. The reason I.." He gestured to his face, his fingers following the scars along his cheeks, "I look like...this." His fingers absently began to fold the letter up, following the lines than Hidan noticed now had been folded and unfolded repeatedly. "I don't really like talking to him, but he uh, wanted to know if I'd come see him for the holiday." he said, holding the folded paper up like some kinda symbol for a moment. Hidan nodded.

"You gonna go?" he asked. Kakuzu gave a shrug.

"I dunno yet." Hidan just nodded. He didn't really know what to say. How to respond. So Kakuzu's dad was alive, and Hidan thought it was safe to say he didn't much like the guy. That Hidan could understand. What he didn't get was why Kakuzu would lie about it. Lie to him. Hidan had been honest about himself from the get-go. About his religion, his single mom, his asshole dad. Didn't he deserve the same honesty?

"Listen, I get it if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, I don't fucking care." he blurted, "But man, just don't lie to me, ya know?" Kakuzu's eyes moved slowly to his, dark brows knitted downward.

"We've been together less than a month Hidan." his voice was cold, annoyed. "I didn't want to be hashing this kind of stuff so soon. This is _my_family bullshit." he said. Hidan scoffed,

"So what, I can't be concerned?" Hidan told himself not to get annoyed. Kakuzu obviously had a lot of his plate, but for some reason, Hidan just couldn't seem to enact any kind of filter for that mouth of his. "I'm not asking for much, just for you to be fucking honest with me."

"I'm trying." Kakuzu said. His tone was dangerous. Pissy.

"Well that's a pretty big fucking thing to lie about. In fact it seems like everything with you is just a bunch of secrets. It's kinda fucking annoying."

_Please_, Hidan begged himself, _please just shut up_. This wasn't how to wanted to respond, but damnit his mouth just wouldn't stop. He panicked. He didn't know how to react in sensitive situations. So as a defense, he got mean.

"It's none of your business, Hidan,"

"For fuck's sake Kakuzu," Hidan flew up from the bed, arms tossed in the air, "I just want to know who the hell I'm dating." Kakuzu rose to his feet, staring down at Hidan with narrowed eyes,

"I'm not any different than I was just a few seconds ago."

"No, you were a liar a few seconds ago, now you're a liar and an asshat!" Kakuzu scoffed, and his tongue ran over his teeth, anger painting his face.

"I'm trying here Hidan," he snapped, then took a step closer, his voice lowering, "But if you don't like what you see, then I'm sorry, but this is all there is. If it's not enough for you, then get your ass out of here."

Hidan couldn't believe it. He felt like he was being kicked out. And hell, he wasn't about to be kicked out.

"What the fuck ever man," he snapped. He reached down to grab his book-bag, and swung it violently over his shoulder before making his way to the door, "Fuck you."

He wasn't sure what Kakuzu yelled as he slammed the flimsy wood against the frame, or if it was Deidara that had attempted to stop him as he made a sprint for the student bus. But as he sat down on the faux leather seat, and his adrenaline began to dwindle, he felt sick realizing he may have just walked out on their last fight.

* * *

I'm so sorry this took so long, and that this is so short. Please forgive me!


End file.
